Down the Rabbit Hole
by Joy-girl
Summary: When Sakura jumps in front of an attack, she finds herself in a new world full of strangely familiar faces. Sakura must find her way home before she looses herself. "But, I don't want to be among mad people!" "Oh, you can't help that. We're all mad here."
1. Above Ground

Hey there!

This fiction has multiple influences. The books themselves, for one. _Warped_ by NopeJustMe for another, the wonderland episode of _Ouran Host Club_, and also the newest _Alice in Wonderland_ movie. I take a little bit from each one, along with a lot from Naruto and some of my own genius (I like to think so).

Anyway, without much further ado – here is the first chapter!

**Down the Rabbit Hole**  
.:Chapter One – Above Ground:.

Spring was in the air. The grass was finally beginning to turn that luscious shade of green. Windows all around Konoha were wide open, letting the warm breeze air out what was left of the stale winter. Flowers were beginning to bud and birds were making it loud and clear what season it was.

Yet, Sakura could only watch from the hospital window. She let out a hefty sigh, her arms crossed as she leaned against the glass watching a particularly frisky pair of birds fly around. "It's such a nice day out." She groaned.

"You're not the only one stuck in here, Haruno-san." An older nurse stared hard at Sakura while shoving a file in her face. "Your next patient is waiting in room 107." When the nurse turned, Sakura's eyes narrowed at the elder nurse and she stuck her tongue out. _Mature, real mature, Sakura_. Pushing herself off the glass, Sakura stretched. _I think I'm getting Spring Fever, maybe I should go home before I spread it to someone else_. She laughed at her own thoughts before heading off to the next patient.

* * *

"So, Alice, how'd you manage this, this time?" Sakura smiled as she watched the ten-year-old girl squirm on the metal bed.

"I just wanted to play with my sister." Alice's small hand moved to play with her messy blond hair.

"And how did that result in this sprained ankle?" Sakura finally bent down to send green chakra into the swollen appendage.

"She was running out to train, so I chased her."

"And?" Alice squirmed a little before Sakura took a firm hold of the girl's leg so she would stop moving. Sakura heard the girl huff a little. When she finally answered, her voice was quieter.

"…And I tripped and fell in a hole." Sakura chuckled and stood up, heading towards one of the cabinets against the wall.

"You really should be more aware of your surroundings." Sakura returned and kneeled before the girl. "I got rid of a lot of the swelling, but I'm going to wrap this around your ankle so you don't move it so much." As she began wrapping, Sakura continued, "Which means you might not be able to play with your sister as much. Do you have anything fun to do?"

"Yeah, I have this really weird book I started reading. It's called _Alice and Wonderland_."

Sakura nodded absently. "I think I read that when I was a kid. I was a big bookworm."

"The main character's name has my name, which makes it even more awesome and weird."

Sakura stood up and smiled at the girl. "Well, I hope you especially enjoy it, because you're going to be stuck in one place reading that book, got it?" Alice nodded. "I'm going to get the nurse to talk to your sister, but no moving on it for at least three days, got it?"

The girl slumped a little, but nodded. Sakura opened the door and called for a nurse, explaining the situation. Just as she turned to go to her next patient, she found herself turning straight into a very hard chest.

"You're late."

Sakura stepped back and rubbed her nose, glaring at the white-eyed male before her. "Am I?"

"It's important. Remember the meeting Tsunade called?"

"Ah," Sakura chuckled. _Oh yeah…._ Her hand found the back of her neck. "Oops?"

* * *

"So good of you to join us, Sakura."

Sakura followed quickly in behind Neji, nodded her apology, and sat herself beside Sasuke and Naruto. She leaned over and whispered, "Did I miss anything?"

"No." Sasuke answered. He was beside her in a jounin uniform, leaning back in the chair with arms folded. Naruto was beside him with his head on the table. Sakura heard a muffled 'boring' come from the resting head.

There was a slight puff of air behind Sakura. She didn't turn around. The new body quickly sat down beside Sakura. Tsunade stopped talking to glare at the newcomer.

"Oh, Kakashi, good, you're right on time."

"Was I?" Sakura couldn't see it, but she swore he was grinning under the mask.

"No." She spared a few more seconds of glaring at Team 7 (also ignoring Naruto's complaints that _he_ wasn't late, so why was he getting glared at) before returning to the group in ninjas seating around the meeting room.

"For those of you who didn't know, Sand and Konoha have been working closely together to get an alliance together with Sound. After months of negotiations, I believe we are finally ready to the final negotiations. Tomorrow, the Kazekage and a representative are heading to Sound to work out the final details. As there are still some groups who are resisting, I will send a few others with the two representatives, namely Kakashi's team." Immediately, Naruto perked "Sakura, you will be the representative. You've had enough experience working with me. Sasuke, you are the most familiar with the area. Kakashi will also be along as back up. Naruto, you need practice and a lot of work with diplomacy. If you can promise you will be quiet and watch what Sakura does, then you may go along."

Naruto jumped up and let a loud whoop. "Hey, do I get to wear a fancy hat or anything?"

"Naruto, sit down!" Sakura grabbed his sleeve and yanked him down. From the corner of her vision, Sakura saw Sasuke smirk. She quickly let go of Naruto and faced the front, hiding her blush.

"If all goes well, we will have a new ally by the end of the week. Team Kakashi, you're leaving tomorrow. I suggest you get some rest."

* * *

"Man, I haven't been to Sound in a while." Naruto commented noodles hung front his mouth. Sakura smacked the back of his head, causing the noodles to spit back out into his bowl. "Sakura-chan!"

"Chew your food!"

Sasuke grunted, and Sakura thought she could make out his lips curving up slightly. Gaara and Hinata ate in silence, though an ever-present blush had remained on Hinata's cheeks since Naruto had invited her to ramen.

"That's right," Naruto continued. His blue eyes were staring down at the steaming bowl in front of him. His chopsticks swirled the liquid around. "I don't think we've been there since Orochimaru died."

_Orochimaru_. Sakura felt herself shudder. Dark memories haunted her when she closed her eyes. Yellow eyes showing her own death. Fangs piercing Sasuke's flesh. _Stealing Sasuke away_-

"-You know, I thought Orochimaru was a chick when I first saw him." Sakura's eyes opened and snapped over to stare and Naruto. There were a few beats of silence before snickers filled the air. Sakura felt her lips curve upward as her nightmares faded. Naruto knew what to say, even when he wasn't trying.

"M-Me too." Hinata chimed in. Sakura's eyes focused on Hinata for a moment. Sakura idly thought that between her timid comments and food nibbling, she seemed like a mouse.

"Ne, Sasuke, don't you think Orochimaru was a little feminine? He did seem to be more interested in guys-"

"Shut-up, Dobe."

Through her laughter, Sakura saw Gaara's mouth curve upwards and Hinata sputter while trying to calm a raging Naruto. The smirk was evident on Sasuke's face as he pushed his empty bowl of ramen away and stood up. Beside him, Naruto still raged ("Hey, jerk, you wanna fight? Hey! I'm talking to you!").

"I'm going home to prepare for the mission tomorrow."

"Ah!" Sakura jumped up. "I'll walk with you, I'm supposed to meet Ino soon anyway."

Sasuke said nothing, but the pause in his walk as Sakura fished through her pockets for the right amount of money spoke volumes to her. As she caught up to him, she offered a bright smile and a thank you. It wasn't the first time they had walked together, yet as they were stepping away from the yelling Naruto, Sakura couldn't help but marvel at how happy she was with Sasuke beside her.

* * *

It was a beautiful painting. The colors blended in beautifully and the shading was perfectly reflecting the sun showing through the trees of Konoha. Two figures looked like they were made especially for the scenery. One person was laying in the grass, eyes closed, and head resting in folded arms. The other was leaning over the resting person. Her hand was forever placing her platinum blonde hair behind her ear. Her smile was as bright as the baby blue bikini she wore.

Sakura looked up from the painting and smiled at the artist. "It's really good, Sai. I think you captured the moment beautifully."

Sai briefly looked over his shoulder at the leaning girl before turning back to add the finishing touches. "A more realistic portrait would contain a more annoyed pineapple head and a yelling blonde." At Sakura's laugh, he turned again, offering a raised eyebrow. "What brings you here? Would you also like to admire the scenery?"

"I would, but Ino actually wanted me to meet her here. You should show them the picture, Sai, I'm sure Ino and Shikamaru would love it."

Sai frowned. "I do not make it a habit to share my work."

Sakura straightened up, stretching her arms. "You should. I bet you could really make some money off of them."

"Forehead!" Sakura looked down from the top of the hill to see Ino standing and waving. "Come on down! The water is great!"

Sakura eyed the water skeptically as she headed towards the couple. "It's spring, Pig. The water shouldn't be great."

Ino grabbed Sakura's arm and began yanking her towards the small lake. "It is! Try it with me! It's one of the first great days of Spring, and you're leaving tomorrow. Please?"

"Why don't you ask Shikamaru? He's been with you the whole time."

Ino rolled her eyes. "Shikamaru? He's like a cat. He doesn't want to get wet and his happy laying in the sun all day. Now," Another pull, "At least put a foot in."

"Ino, you just wanted to break out your bikini, didn't you?" Ino dropped Sakura's elbow and held up her hands.

"You caught me!" A wide grin stretched Ino's cheeks. "Now, come on!" Quick hands grabbed Sakura's arm again and resumed yanking.

"Ino, I didn't bring anything to swim in! I'm wearing pants!" The water was getting closer and closer. "Some good clothes!"

"It's okay! You can sunbath with me to dry!" Only a few feet away now.

"Pig, I said, no!" Sakura dug her feet into the ground, but Ino pulled harder causing the two to stumble.

Shikamaru heard the two talking. One brown eye opened to watch the two girls as they got closer to the lake. He saw it coming before it happened and smirked when the girls stumbled. Shikamaru fought a chuckle when he heard the splash, followed by sputtering and an angry, "INO-PIG!"

* * *

_The people of Sound really live up to their name_. Sakura thought as their team stepped through the gates. Off to the side, two men were playing stringed instruments. A lady danced around the men, her moves attracting the attention of all that passed by. Some would drop a shiny coin to show their appreciation. Others smiled and clapped before moving on. A little ahead of the trio was a old man playing the flute. He leaned against the wall of a hut, entertaining all that passed him. Sakura's favorite was the young boy and girl dancing to their father and mother's string music while another boy made beats with cans, lids, and pots. Music wasn't the only sound; voices and chatter filled the air while people passed on the busy streets. Children ran around, chasing each other. Sakura couldn't help but smile, thinking that while appearances and lands might be look strange, the people inside aren't all that different.

"Thank you all for coming!" A young man stopped in front of the Konoha team and bowed deeply. "You are the Konoha team, are you not?"

"Hell, yeah! – Ow, Sakura-chan, why do you keep hitting me?"

"As the meeting does not start until tomorrow, may I escort you to the rooms that you will be staying in?"

"Please." Kakashi spoke. As the guide turned to walk away, Kakashi whispered loud enough for only the team to hear, "Emergency meeting at the room."

Sakura's green eyes watched her former teacher carefully. As he walked past her, she noted his tense shoulders. Rough hands nearly twitching near his kunai pouch. Sakura looked to Sasuke. His eyes were hard, sometimes looking around. A hand was always close to his sword. Gaara followed silently behind Kakashi, focused on something unseen. Naruto had quieted down. His blue eyes met hers and they both nodded. Now that her teacher had pointed it out. Something felt out of place. There was an underlying menace. Something was coming.

* * *

As soon as the door to their room closed, the team went around the room checking every surface, corner, and hideout for any form of weapon, speaker, or microphone. Once the room was cleared, Kakashi finally spoke. "We're being followed."

"I sensed it too." Gaara confirmed. "Sasuke, did you pick up anything?"

"It's Sound." He said. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the window. "But not someone that wants to be seen. I don't think it's someone who is working for the current leader."

"You don't know that." Naruto snorted. He sat on the bed to the right. Despite his attitude, Sakura noted that a kunai was held firmly in his grip.

Kakashi sighed and leaned against the doorframe. "This is why Sasuke, Naruto, and I are here. There is a rebel force that isn't too happy with the new management. They are still loyal to Orochimaru and aren't exactly fond of the new treaty – especially regarding Sasuke."

"So," Sakura said slowly. "We should expect an attack at anytime." She looked at Sasuke, "Why-"

A quiet whizzing sound was the only warning before there was a crash of the window. A kunai buried itself in the wall. There was only enough time for the group to duck for cover when they saw the burning tag attached to the kunai.

BOOM!

A flash and a searing hot sensation. It took Sakura a moment to gather her bearings. There were sounds of metal hitting against metal. Something was on top of her, crushing her leg and back.

"SAKURA-CHAN! Where are you?"

"Sakura! Kakashi needs medical assistance!"

Right. Sakura gathered her chakra into her hands and pushed. Daylight appeared and Sakura had to blink to adjust. She didn't have much time, as a sound ninja immediately saw her and flew at her, fist pulled back to try and catch her off-guard. Sakura dodged, her leg kicked out and catching him in the stomach. With a quick glance, Sakura saw Kakashi on the ground, a wooden plank protruding from his side. Gaara stood over him, sand forming a barrier to the injured nin. Sakura rushed over. "Cover me." She ordered the Kazekage. In the back of her mind, Sakura wondered if she was going to get in trouble for that later.

No time. Sakura examined Kakashi's body. Aside from the expected burns and cuts from the explosion, the wood was the worst injury. "Kakashi." She looked at his glazed over eye. "I'm going to pull this out and try to heal you. There will probably be some splinters, but I'll have to get that later. Understand?" She watched Kakashi nod and grit his death. A muttered apology and a pull. She cringe das Kakashi's body went up with the plank then flopped down with a sickening plop. Immediately, Sakura's healing hands moved over the wound to stop the blood-flow.

Precious minutes passed before she allowed herself to check out her other teammates. Gaara still guarded her and the injured Kakashi (she's have to thank him for that later). Naruto was holding on his own. He was sporting a few questionable injuries, but otherwise seemed okay. Sasuke was out of sight. "Where's Sasuke?" She shouted at Gaara.

"Outside."

Sakura looked down at her patient. The wound wasn't perfectly healed, but the bleeding at stopped, and the hole wasn't nearly as large. "Don't move." She ordered the unconscious ninja. "Gaara!" She stood and helped kick an oncoming ninja. "Kakashi is unconscious and shouldn't move. Keep guarding him, I'm going to help Sasuke."

She didn't wait for a response. Sakura jumped through the hole in the wall to the outside. She didn't have much time to analyze her teammate. He was injured and tired, that much was clear. Sakura was surprised to see at least six relatively decent ninja ganging up on Sasuke at once.

"Sasuke, jump!" Sakura called. He obeyed and Sakura pounded her chakra-filed fist into the ground. Two ninja were caught, the others hand jumped with Sasuke. The two ninja stood, wobbling slightly on the destroyed ground. "I'll be your opponent." She lifted her fist and tightened the glove, and smirk residing on her lips.

* * *

The second ninja finally fell. Sakura huffed as she wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. The second one had put up a fight – her shoulder and stomach had gotten hit with some especially strong sound waves – but it was his pride and underestimating the efforts of a girl that got him in the end. Green eyes searched for Sasuke. There he was. He had narrowed it down to one. He was formidable – enough for Sasuke to really put in effort – but Sakura knew he had the overall skill.

No - something flashed to the left in the trees. Her eyes narrowed. There was something – another ninja! She watched the finger movements. A complicated genjutsu – and it was aimed at Sasuke. Sakura reached into her pouch – nothing. They had been used up on the last ninja she fought. Sakura ran.

Rat, monkey, tiger. Almost there! His hands were moving fast, but Sakura could read the movements. It was complicated and took time to set up the genjutsu. She had a few more to go.

Horse – Sakura jumped up to the first branch.

Dragon – She jumped onto his branch.

Rabbit – A chakra-loaded fist was pulled back.

Whispered words and a connecting fist. The ninja turned as her fist connected with his cheek, and the last word fell from his lips. Their eyes met and Sakura felt herself fall. The last thing she heard was her name being called as the blackness took over.

* * *

**(A/N)** Aaand… now time for the excitement to begin! I don't want to give too much away, only that it will start silly and get darker.

So, as a side note, I've discovered that I'm terrible with transitions. I think this is why I don't write more.

See that button in the middle there? Yeah, that one. It's tempting you. You know you want to press it. Go on, do it. Press the review button.


	2. Follow Your Feet

This chapter is especially for L Bell Sha - my one and only amazing reviewer. Thank you for taking time out to review - this update is especially for you (Oo, look at that, I made a little rhyme!)

Nothing else to say, so here is Chapter 2 for your reading pleasure!

**Down the Rabbit Hole  
.:Chapter Two – Follow your feet:.  
**

_Falling down the hole  
Strange things you will find  
Falling down the hole  
Do not to fall behind_

_Deeper and deeper you go  
Find your way back home  
Deeper and deeper you go  
Careful where you roam_

The blackness surrounded her and she had the distinct sensation that she was falling. What happened? Sound… then an ambush… and Sasuke! A genjutsu! Green eyes flashed open.

Sakura was disappointed to see that the blackness behind her eyes matched her surrounding. She looked down and her eyebrows furrowed. She could see herself, so where was she?

Sakura's head snapped down again. She certainly could see herself; she could also see that her outfit had changed somewhat. She still had her black boots on, but had white tights covering her legs and light blue shorts and a tank top on. Sakura pulled on the shirt. "Weird…" She mumbled. She looked around the inky blackness. Perhaps she could find the weakness of the genjutsu….

As her hand moved foreword, a whizzing brown item shot down past her, disappearing below her. Sakura looked down, trying to follow the object. As she looked down, the air began to move around her.

_THUNK_

"Ow!" Sakura rubbed her head as she watched what looked like a clock fall from the spot it hit on her head to the inky blackness below. A wooden chair fell beside her. Its speed slowed so that it stopped (_or continued falling?_) when it reached her side. "Curious…" Sakura grasped the chair and began to pull it towards her, when both her and the chair began a rapid decent.

As they fell, she saw the clock again. It was right in front of her face and she reached out to touch it. As her fingers brushed the surface, the clock buzzed. A loud ringing echoed in the void.

_RING!_

The clock shook, and Sakura took a step backwards.

_RING RING! _

It was getting louder and faster, the shaking more excessive.

_RING RING! RING!_

The clocked moved so quickly that the face was blurred. The ringing resounded in Sakura's head so that she could no longer hear her thoughts or her breathing. Sakura's hands moved to cover her ears, attempting to block out the maddening sound.

_RING!_

Then nothing. After the intense ringing, the deep silence that followed was louder than anything she had heard before. Sakura's hands slowly fell from her ears. It was then; Sakura realized she wasn't moving anymore. The darkness was beginning to fade away. Sakura could make out another chair and a table, but both were upside down. The chair she had first grabbed onto stood right side up next to her.

The area was becoming more visible. A little bit in front of her was… a chandelier?

_RING!_

Only one ring this time, but it echoed as loud as before. Sakura felt the room turn, her stomach turning with it. And suddenly she was falling again, right onto her butt. The chair previously in her clutch toppled over next to her, while the table and second chair were now right side up.

Cautiously, Sakura stood up and looked around. The area was brighter now – though there wasn't much color to it. Black and white tiles surrounded her. If it wasn't for the chandelier on the ceiling and the candles on the wall, Sakura didn't think she would be able to tell what was up or down.

"What kind of genjutsu is this?" A hand moved up to her chin, a habit she had adopted lately.

Green eyes examined the room again. There is a bottle on the table. "You weren't there before." _Great_. Sakura thought, _I'm talking to inanimate objects now_. The bottle was little with blue contents. Sakura reached out and held the bottle in her hands. Liquid. There was a tiny string wrapped around the top with a note attached to it. "Drink me." Sakura read aloud. "Ha!" She chuckled, though not a pleasant one, and slammed the bottle onto the table. "I'm not that stupid." Sakura glanced around the room, talking to whoever was watching her. "You think I'm that much of an idiot to drink something this random?" Her pale arms crossed over her chest. "You're not even being subtle about it! Drink me? Please! I'll find my own way out!"

* * *

Sakura didn't know how long it had been, but her nerves were frayed and she examined every inch of what she decided was a tiny tiled box meant to destroy her sanity. The only thing she found was a tiny door hidden in a corner. It opened, but not only could she barely fit four fingers in there, and the place it led to was shrouded in complete darkness.

Her eyes drifted toward the blue liquid on the table. It wasn't the first time she had had a staring contest with the bottle. "I shouldn't drink you." She murmured. "But I don't think I can take much more of this room."

Before she could second guess herself, Sakura grabbed the bottle, snapped open the lid, and took a small taste of the contents.

Calmly, as if the liquid fixed her destroyed nerves, she placed the cap back onto the bottle and waited for something to happen.

She didn't have to wait long. The table was getting bigger, the bottle farther away. Sakura turned and noted the chair was also beginning to tower over her. When everything stopped growing, Sakura eyed the room again. The tiny door was still there, but – no, the door wasn't tiny anymore. Or maybe, Sakura looked down at herself and her blue top and shorts and white tights, maybe she was the one that changed?

"Late."

"What?" Sakura turned and saw cream eyes staring her down.

"You're late."

"Neji! Thank God! Why are you here? Are you real or –" Sakura stopped and stared and Neji. There was something decidedly different about him. "Neji, why do you have _bunny ears_?"

A hand reached out to touch the fuzzy looking appendages before Neji stepped back and pulled a watch out of his pocket. "Very late for an important date." His eyes bore into her once more. Sakura was surprised to see no reorganization in the pale eyes.

He stepped past her and she whirled around, "Neji-"

Bunny Neji had disappeared.

* * *

It was a longer walk than she thought it would be – between the table and the now normal sized door. It only helped confirm that it wasn't the room that changed, but Sakura. With a bit of apprehension, Sakura approached the door, and put a hand on the knob. Sakura took a deep breath and held it in, listening for any hint of what was beyond the door.

Nothing but the beat of her own heart. _Well, I know I'm still alive_. With one hand on her thumping heart and the other on the doorknob, Sakura finally pulled and stepped into the darkness.

Another step. Sakura looked back at the door frame-shaped light. Despite the source, everything beyond the door remained in complete darkness.

Another step, and she let out the breath she had been holding. _At least I'm not falling and there aren't any damn clocks_.

Another step, and Sakura fell head first into an impossibly deeper darkness.

* * *

A splash.

Her movements suddenly hindered.

Wet.

Can't breathe!

Sakura's eyes snapped open. Blue. All she could see was a vibrant blue. Water! Ninja training kicked in, and Sakura went limp. Her body slowly began to float in a direction, and when Sakura locked on that direction, she swam for all she was worth.

When she hit the surface, Sakura took a much-needed breath of fresh air. She tried to blink away the pink hair stuck to her face. When that didn't work, she used a hand to brush away the strands and her green eyes immediately locked with familiar blue eyes.

"Ino!" Sakura nearly cried with relief. Ino was standing ten feet away in shallower water near a beach. Immediately, Sakura began to swim towards her oldest friend. "Ino! It's so good to see you!" Ino took a step backwards, causing Sakura to stop swimming. There was a pause while the two girls stared each other down.

Finally, the sound of purring interrupted the silence, and Sakura watched as Ino turned her head to shout, "Dinah! Did you hear that? The weird thing called me Ino!" Ino's head snapped back towards Sakura, who had by now gotten to a point in the water were she could stand. "How dare you call me Ino!"

Sakura stood, dripping wet with only her chest and above visible, completely bewildered and lost. Hadn't she got out the genjutsu? She eyed the angry Ino, noticing for the first time that something was off. "You have weird ears too." Sakura reached out a hand and took a step closer.

Ino gasped and immediately put both hands over her furry round ears. "How dare you! You're one to talk!"

Sakura cocked her head to the side and lifted her hands to feel her ears. They seem normal… She looked down at her reflection in the water. Pink hair, human ears, green eyes… aside from the change of clothes, everything was still normal and most importantly, _human_. "I- you, you have mouse ears." Sakura tried again.

"Well, duh!" The mouse-Ino turned to Dinah. For the first time, Sakura looked away from her best friend and noted the figure sprawled out in the grass behind mouse-Ino. "Dinah! This freak is bothering me! Do something about it!"

Sakura watched as 'Dinah' opened one eye, closed it again, mumbled something about troublesome, stretched, and then purred contentedly. _Purred_.

_Snort_.

Sakura clamped a hand over her mouth before more laughter escaped. Shikamaru - cat ears, tail, spiky ponytail and all – had _purred_.

"Hey, forehead-freak!" Ino shrieked, and Sakura's attention was make to the mousy Ino. The blue-eyed mouse was pointing at Sakura with a shaking finger. "Get out! Get out of my pond! Now!"

There was a beat before took in a deep breath and began to move. Mouse Ino flinched back, watching Sakura very carefully. The breath was let out in the form of a heavy sigh as Sakura slowly trudged out the water in the opposite direction of mouse Ino and cat Shikamaru.

* * *

It was a long while before mouse Ino's threats and rants disappeared from Sakura's ears. During the walk towards anywhere but where Ino was, Sakura was able to examine the surroundings.

After she had left the pond area, Sakura had come upon a forest of giant flowers. _Either they really are giant flowers, or I'm still freakishly small_. Sakura thought, slightly miserably. When Ino's rants had finally disappeared, the world was quiet enough that Sakura thought she heard whispering. More than once, Sakura stopped to try and listen in, but the swaying flowers did not let anything coherent escape, and Sakura was forced to move on.

Sakura was weary, damp, and verging on annoyed when she reached a clearing in the bright flowers. In the clearing were giant smoking mushrooms, and Sakura found herself grumbling about the amount of giant things as she pushed away the last of the stems.

"Personally, I prefer being small than being giant."

"Oh my God," Sakura's green eyes widened, "Talking mushrooms. What next?"

"You're pretty dull, aren't you? You're listening to me, but not really understanding me."

Something about the voice sounded familiar, so Sakura took a step towards the talking mushrooms. As she got closer, Sakura noticed something green resting in the middle of the mushrooms. She could smell the smoke. It also smelled familiar, and Sakura found her steps to quicken as she raced to stand in front of the speaker.

"Asuma?"

One eye opened to stare at her. "If that's what you want to call me."

Sakura's mouth slowly dropped open and her eyes watered. He was long and green, and really, aside from his human face and pair of human arms, he was for all intents and purposes a caterpillar, but his face undeniably belonged to the deceased chain-smoking sensei. "You're alive…" She whispered.

"Am I?" He took another drag from his cigarette.

A pause. Sakura stopped to think before she answered. All she could come up with was a meek, "I don't know."

One eyebrow rose while his green arms crossed in front of the fuzzy looking body, "Well, what do you know?"

"There was this attack, a genjutsu. And now I'm here, and I'm trying to get out." Sakura paused, looking purposefully into his eyes. "Do you know me?" She watched him for an understanding. Anything to show he was the Asuma, the human, she knew.

He sighed and stared back at her with a less than pleased look. "Why does that matter? Don't you know yourself?"

"Of course!"

"Then what does it matter if I know you?"

"B-Because!" Sakura stuttered. "I want to know if you are who I think you are!" _Or if I'm just crazy._

"I know who I am. You can think whatever you want. In your mind, I can be whoever you want me to be, but I know me."

"So…" Sakura started slowly, trying to process the words said, "You could be anyone. I'm essentially making you to be Asuma in my head."

"You should know yourself the most, just like I know myself the most. Still, it's easy to get lost in oneself."

"…I suppose." There was an awkward pause followed by a weary sigh, "Do you know how to get out of here?"

"There are many ways out."

Green eyes lit up, arms raised and fisted, ready to use the information, "How?"

"Follow your feet." Another drag of the cigarette

Sakura's arms and head dropped. "Really?" Her voice was deadpan and she wondered if she looked as irritated as she felt, "That was rather unhelpful."

"I don't think it was. You need to watch your feet, or they will run away from you, much like a nose will try to run."

"Right." Sakura turned and half-heartedly waved at the caterpillar, "I'm just going to follow my feet somewhere else." She took a few steps before the achingly familiar voice stopped her.

"You should be careful."

Sakura stopped and turned back to the smoking caterpillar with a raised eyebrow, "Of what?"

The caterpillar took a long drag of the cigarette in his hand before examining the white stick. He looked bored, but Sakura thought that there was much more to him than he was letting on, "You may know yourself best, but you may also be your own worst enemy." His soft eyes suddenly turned hard as they snapped up and stared into green, "Don't forget." And then his serious expression was gone, his attention elsewhere and Sakura left.

* * *

Strangely enough, Sakura found herself following the caterpillar's advice. She was following her feet. Her head was lowered, eyeing her booted toes as they trudged onward. _Feet, don't fail me. Lead me somewhere amazing_. _It's not like my brain is coming up with anything amazing._

And then her feet stopped.

It wasn't anything big. There wasn't a snap or a cough. Nothing came flying from the bushes and no one had appeared. It was the little things. A different feeling in the air, an unnatural rustle in the bushes, the tense atmosphere that hadn't been there before. She may be in a new world, but Sakura was a ninja first, and her ninja training was kicking in at full speed.

_I'm being followed. _

Her head was no longer lowered and her green eyes were focused ahead of her while her senses reached out around her. A scowl formed on her lips. Nothing. Maybe her senses were off in this new place? _Genjutsu. Not a new place, genjutsu._

With tense shoulders and twitching fingers, Sakura continued foreword.

The feeling of being watched never left, and Sakura was growing tired and hungry. Her stomach rumbled and Sakura couldn't help but wonder when it was that she last ate. _God, I don't even know how long I've been in this weird place._

So when Sakura finally came to a house, the following presence was immediately put at the back of her mind.

The house was beautiful lavender with white shutters, and a white picket fence. Surrounding the house was a garden of tulips of every kind and color – even those that Sakura had never seen before. The grass was perfectly clean and manicured. Not a blade of grass was taller or different looking. The porch that Sakura stepped onto was small, merely for an individual to take shelter under. She carefully knocked on the door, afraid she would dirty the perfect image.

"Hello." A voice – not from inside. Sakura turned and saw a smiling scaly head poke around the corner of the house. "May I help you?"

"Ah, yes! Do you live here? I'm really hungry and -"

"You don't look like you really need food."

Sakura heaved a sigh. Of course, how could she not have recognized the fake smile? Her hand clamped over her green eyes as she rubbed them roughly. "Look, do you live here?"

"I do not." Sai stepped away from the corner, revealing a lizard's tail. He lifted the pencil and paper that occupied his hands. "I am the painter."

"And I'm sure you are an amazing painter."

"I am."

"So could you let me in? I really need a place to rest and eat."

"I cannot let you in. However," Sakura perked up, "I do believe you can let yourself in."

Surprised, Sakura tried the doorknob. It turned with little resistance and the door opened without a sound. "Oh!" She turned to thank the lizard, but his attention was no longer on her. So she smiled fondly and stepped carefully into the house.

* * *

As to be expected, the house was also perfect and neat as can be. Nothing was out of place, no picture was titled, no spec of dust to be found. Sakura softly closed the door and called out as loud as shared in fear of breaking the magic of the perfect house, "Hello? Anyone home?" A pause and she stepped foreword. "No? Please? I'm really hungry!" Sakura continued straight ahead, stepping lightly and admiring the pictures (though no photos graced the walls or stands).

Down the hallway was a perfectly shining kitchen with a round porcelain table in the center. On the table was a wonderfully delicious looking cake with one piece missing. Sakura licked her lips and looked around. "Are you sure no one is here?" Her gaze rested on the cake and the knife sitting beside the plate, as though it was meant for her. "Well, this is made up in my mind, isn't it?" She reached for the knife, "So, it's not going to harm anyone if I take just a sliver of this amazing looking cake…" She paused and looked around the room suspiciously, her hand griping the knife, "Right? No one here to stop me?"

Not a sound was made in the perfect house with the white picket fence, so Sakura greedily cut out a piece so that the cake now had a quarter missing. In the back of her mind, Sakura was congratulating herself on adding to the perfection of the house – for a quarter missing was much better than a random eighth hole.

As Sakura licked the icing off of her fingers, a calm befell her. She sighed contentedly and patted her belly. Wait, her green eyes stared at her stomach. It almost looked like she had eaten the entirety on the cake in one swallow. She watched with wide eyes and hands still on her belly, as her fingers began to grow. Then her arms, her feet, shins, thighs. Everything was growing at a rapid rate.

Something hit her head; she looked up, but only poked her eye with the chandelier. Her back hunched as she continued to grow with no place to go. No, her growing body forced her head through the ceiling and onto the second floor. Sakura couldn't see her hands anymore, but she was feeling for an opening – a window or a door – to push her arms and legs through. As her head hit the ceiling of the second floor, she couldn't help but notice the cute bunny comforter resting on the bed and the bunny slippers so perfectly set beside the bed, waiting to be used.

There, her hands and feet were outside of the house. Three of the appendages (Sakura couldn't really tell which ones at this point) had made it out of an already made hole in the home. The other had made its own hole. She winced as her head finally went through the roof and into the open air. Her face and neck sustaining a few scratches, but Sakura couldn't examine herself to check.

She saw the lizard watch her grow like it wasn't anything new or impressive. When she finally seemed to stop growing, Sakura felt herself breathing again – when had she stopped? At least maybe she could assess the situation fully….

"You know," Despite her confusion, Sakura knew what the lizard was going to say, and she hated him for it, "You're pretty ugly when you're that big."

"I'll kill y-"

"What the hell?" Bunny Neji was standing by the broken door of the once perfectly white picket fence. His bunny ears seemed to flop down and his eyes were wider than she'd ever thought possible. And like a click of the fingers, his expression immediately changed into a much more familiar face. His ears went flat behind his head, eyes narrowed, and his lips curled back so the baring of his teeth were easily recognized. "What the hell happened to my house!" He reached to his side and pulled out a very sharp looking sword. "YOU!"

"Lizard man!" Sakura called out, franticly trying to move her limbs to she wouldn't get stabbed.

"Yes, Ugly?" He looked at her from his corner of the yard were he had avoided getting stabbed, punched, or kicked from both the growing appendages and the angry bunny.

"Do you have any shrinking liquid?"

There was a beat of silence while the scaled one thought. Sakura fought to not kick him into answering. "I do." He finally answered.

"Can I have some?"

"I'm sure you can. I imagine that's how you got here in the first place."

"OW!" Sakura looked down at the tiny stab in her leg. She gaped down at the little bunny and the tiny hole. It wasn't serious – more like getting a thumbtack jammed into her leg, but it still hurt and it pushed her sanity to the edge. "Dammit, bunny Neji! I swear to God if you don't cut that out right now, I will flick you into oblivion!" Neji bristled at her threat, pointing his sword at her, shouting warnings and challenges. Ignoring him, Sakura's angry gaze turned to the lizard. "And you! If you don't give that liquid to me right now, I will pry it from your scaly fingers and put your body in a freezer!"

The painter sighed heavily and reached into the satchel on his shoulder. "You are no fun, Ugly." He threw it at her palm, and Sakura easily caught it. She struggled to get the hand to her mouth, however. Sakura winced as her arm tore another hole in the house to get to her face. As the contents were poured into her mouth, Sakura watched Neji's drooping ears and stammering mouth while he stared at the new damage.

The calm came over Sakura again, and she knew it was working. Faster than she had grown, first her head shrank, with her body following shortly after.

Sakura stood proudly on the roof. She examined herself. Not too bad. She seemed to be normal size again without too much damage. "I did it!"

"Yes, you did!" Bunny Neji was growling at her from below. His shock was gone. Sakura gulped and took a step back. "Now that you're back to the same size," The grin on his face was decidedly unpleasant. "I will tear you apart, just like you did to my beautiful home."

Her body reacted on its own. One foot ahead of the other as she crouched down. One hand balanced herself on the roof while the other reached for her pouch – a pouch that wasn't there. She stopped her battle stance and stared at her thigh, confusion spreading through her for a moment before she shook it off. He had a sword, she didn't. She was at a disadvantage, and the best thing she could do now was…

"Bye!"

Sakura turned from the raging bunny and hopped onto a nearby tree. From the tree, she landed gracefully onto the ground and ran for all she was worth.

* * *

The angry bunny was right behind her. They seemed to be on equal ground, but Sakura was tiring. Her breathing was haggard and though it was only pricked, her leg was really starting to ache.

Sakura stumbled on a tree branch and fell. Not bothering to get up, she immediately turned on the ground and put her arms in front of her face, her leg ready for a painful kick.

Nothing.

No angry shouting, no sword staring her in the face. No angry bunny. Sakura strained her ears. Maybe she was farther ahead than she thought?

Instead of the crashing of leaves and bushes, Sakura heard the clashing of metal. Heaving herself up, Sakura began to support herself on nearby branches and trunks to investigate.

She was close. As she reached a hand out to push away the leaves blocking her view, she heard a voice,

"Aren't you late for something?"

_His_ voice.

The once hesitant and tired hand immediately spread the leaves and she watched, instantly knowing what she would see.

It was the bunny and Sasuke fighting. Except, that it wasn't Sasuke. She watched him. He was as skillful as ever, he was easily dominating the bunny with a sword of his own. He still had the ebony hair and hard onyx eyes. His expression was still as unreadable as ever. In fact, he was more clearly _Sasuke_ than any of the figments she had met in the crazy world. Still, instead of his usual outfit (_Blue? A big rope? A headband?_). He wore a white loose shirt that showed part of his chest. He had a long red overcoat with a high collar and black dress pants and shoes. He looked like the royalty he always believed he was.

Something heavy hit the ground and Sakura forced her gaze away from Sasuke. The rabbit was on the ground. His glare was ever present, but his hands were free and held up in an offer of surrender. The tip of Sasuke's sword was aimed straight at the bunny's neck and it did not waver even as Sasuke spoke, "Go." His voice was as hard and cold as the steel in his hand. The rabbit slowly backed up, his eyes never once leaving Sasuke's. In returned, Sasuke's eyes followed the bunny, but he never moved his sword until the rabbit was out of site.

Sakura's gaze was back on Sasuke. Hundreds of emotions and thoughts hit her while she watched him. Was she happy? Was this her Sasuke? Should she run? Should she be afraid? Would he recognize her? Would he help her? Sasuke-kun was here! She leaned foreword, wanting to reach out to him.

_Snap._

The royal Sasuke immediately turned toward the sound and was in front of Sakura in less than a second. _At least this Sasuke is still as fast as ever._ Sakura idly thought as she watched at the sword at her throat.

"Who are you?" Sasuke growled. Sakura's green eyes snapped up to stare into deep black. She wasn't surprised to find that she felt a bit of despair at his words. He didn't know her either.

"Sakura."

"Why are you here?"

Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but found that she really didn't know what to say. It really was a good question – one that she should know the answer. Why was she here? Oh –

"A genjutsu!" She said it with more force than she intended. She blamed the brief memory lapse on all the confusion and excitement. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and she rushed to continue her explanation, "A genjutsu." She repeated. "I want to find my way out of here." She watched his reaction carefully. His face was unreadable as always. Sakura cursed that this aspect of him had not changed. A sigh escaped her lips and she looked off to the side. "And who are you?"

She felt rather than saw his smirk. "Your prince charming." The threat of the sword disappeared and she heard the sharp _shink_ of the object returning to its sheath.

A wry chuckle escaped from her lips. "Right." She mumbled. "If only." Then, she straightened and sent a smirk at him, "I guess I'll start calling you 'Prince' then."

Sasuke snorted. "Do what you please." He turned to go, and Sakura had to fight the urge to stop him. As if he heard her wish, he did stop. His head turned slightly so she knew he was addressing her when he said, "You should be careful."

"Why, yes, dear Prince!" She mock bowed, and when she stood up straight, Prince Sasuke was gone.

* * *

End of part two! I'm betting you can put together the rest of the characters if you haven't already. There are some things I want to explain and be like, "Oh! Did you see how I did that? Did you?" But then that would be giving too much away for the next chapter or few. So, know that I'm doing fun foreshadowing and planning and if you do notice something weird, chances are that it's aaaall in my plan.


	3. A Friend Like You

So, my reviewers per chapter has doubled. If they trend continues, I should have four people review this chapter. At least. Right? And I know some of you are reading this because not only does the tracker say so, but the alerts greatly outnumber the reviews. So please do **tell me what you think**. Even if it's improvements, questions, or predictions.

As before, thank you to L Bell Sha and LadyMartel4000 as my two reviewers. You both made my day :)

**Down the Rabbit Hole  
.:Part 3 – A Friend Like You:.**

_Falling down the hole  
Friends will help you through  
Falling down the hole  
Enemies will be there too_

_Deeper and deeper you go  
Down the rabbit hole  
Deeper and deeper you go  
Don't forget a soul_

He had a light purple shirt with a darker purple vest and pants. The light purple shirt seemed to overlap with a mask covering his nose and mouth. His grey hair and cat ears were messy and untamed – similar to the tail that was swishing around and even though only one eye was visible, Sakura knew the cat man was grinning at her.

"You're kinda creepy." She muttered. "Why are you grinning at me?"

"Why not?" His grin widened when she sighed in defeat.

"Alright, you got me. Now who are you?"

"The Cheshire cat, of course."

"Oh, of course." Sakura's voice was flat. "And I suppose it's normal for you to randomly poof in from nowhere too, right?"

"Precisely. See," He stood up from the tree he was leaning from to ruffle Sakura's pink hair. "You're catching on."

"Catching on to what?" Sakura moved his hand and noted that his fingernails were long, not unlike a cat

"Wonderland."

"Wonderland?" She took her gaze off of the purple and grey cat to look around the woods. When looked back at the Cheshire cat for an answer, he was gone.

"Wonderland." Sakura jumped and turned. He was behind her now. "That's where you are."

"Why am I in Wonderland?"

"You don't know?" The Cheshire Cat's grin lessened, and for the first time, Sakura found herself staring into a deep blackness.

"I," For some reason, Sakura suddenly felt ashamed, like she was being reprimanded. "I'm trying to get home. I don't suppose you know the way?"

"There are many different ways."

A sigh, "I've heard that before. Are you going to tell me to follow my feet too?"

"Heavens, no." The Cheshire Cat poofed away. "I believe in following your eyes."

And suddenly, everything was dark. "At least," Sakura turned left, then right.,  
"I follow my eye." His voice was coming from everywhere. Sakura took a step back. A snap. She whirled around and found herself staring at a single red eye.

And suddenly, the darkness was gone, as though it never happened. "But then, you could always ask the white queen." Sakura turned. He was too her left now, looking the same as ever.

"There's a queen?" She asked absently. Her green eyes scanned the area, on her guard from the red eye.

"Oh yes. We have two queens in fact. But to get to the white queen, you should probably talk to the Mad Hatter."

"B-but," Sakura stuttered as she turned to face the Cheshire Cat, "I don't want to be around mad people!"

The Cheshire Cat chuckled, "Oh, you can't help that.; we're all mad here."

"I don't care." Sakura moaned and held her head in her hands. "I'm so tired of all the crazy here. I just want to go home!" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She licked her lips and tried again "Can, can you at least tell me another way to the white queen?"

The Cheshire Cat watched her, his expression serious for the first time since she had met him. And suddenly, his grin was back, as though he didn't have a care in the world. "Sure. Keep going straight until the sign hits you in the middle of the road. At that point, turn left."

Sakura smiled at him and she wondered why for a moment he looked guilty. In that moment, something in her mind seemed to flash. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Her green eyes studied the Cheshire Cat. After a few beats of silence, he looked off to the side, clearly uncomfortable. "Is there a particular reason you are staring at me so intently?"

"Aren't you supposed to be holding something? Something orange?"

A strange look came across the cat's face before it returned to the grin. "I don't know. You really should be getting along now. You never know who you'll meet up with in the dark."

"Right. Thanks, Cheshire cat." Sakura waved and turned. When she turned her back to the cat, she blinked; an odd sense of emptiness filled her. She was missing something. "Cheshire cat." She whispered. It felt wrong on her tongue. Her brow furrowed, fingers caressed her chin, and head lowered.

Three more steps were taken before she gasped and swiveled back to the Cheshire cat, "No!" She pointed and shouted, but the Cheshire cat was gone. "No," She repeated, a whisper in the wind. "You're not the Cheshire cat, you're Kakashi."

And by the time she turned to leave again, Sakura Haruno knew she had forgotten something important.

* * *

The path itself was unusually clear. Sakura was walking ahead cautiously, for she was already learning that nothing in Wonderland was ever this easy.

"When I run into a sign. When I run into a sign. When I run into a – wait, no." Sakura stopped, "That's not what he said. Didn't he say a sign would run into-"

_BAM_

"We seem to have hit something, my twin."

Sakura held her forearm while she slowly sat up from her prone position on the ground.

"How shameful! We should run extra laps as punishment!"

Now sitting up, Sakura blinked up to see a large pole being held by two men. Their round beady eyes stared back at her. When they blinked at the same time and immediately dropped their pole in unison, Sakura briefly wondered if she had hit her head on the ground and was seeing double.

"It's a beautiful flower!" One exclaimed as they both leaned in and each grabbed an arm.

"A perfect example of youth!" They pulled her to her feet and proceeded to check her for injuries.

"We sincerely apologize for hitting you with our pole." Once their inspection had finished, they stepped back and bowed deeply.

"We felt that adding the pole would be great exercise."

"For our punishment, we shall now carry two signs!" They stood up straight and hugged each other. Their matching green suits seemed to melt into each other.

"Right…" Sakura took a step backwards, her gaze looking in other directions. _If this is where the sign hit me, I should go left right about now._

"Dear youth!" A hand on her left shoulder.

"Where is the lotus flower going?" Another hand on her right shoulder.

"Ah," She hesitated, a small voice yelling at her to keep her knowledge to herself, "The White Queen?"

"The beauty of the White Queen!"

"We shall take you there ourselves!"

There it was, intense regret. _I should listen to myself more often_. "It's really ok-" Sakura held her hands out and tried to back away from the green twins. The matching bowl-head haircuts swung in unison.

"That shouldn't be!"

"We must escort the beautiful flower!"

An idea.

"Of course!" Sakura smiled brightly at them and their faces lit up. "In fact, I'll race you there!" Sakura forced her legs to run in place, getting the twins pumped and ready to go.

"It's the beauty of the spring of youth!"

"Spring of youth!"

"We should not let it go to waste!"

"It would be a crime!"

"Come, my beautiful flower!"

"We shall run for our youth straight towards the queen!"

As one, the twins picked up the sign and raced straight on the path while Sakura immediately turned left.

* * *

It wasn't long before Sakura reached a new clearing. This clearing did not contain mushrooms. It did not have a handsome prince, nor did it have a perfect house. In this clearing was a very long table. At each empty seat a placement of shining silverware, a teacup, a bowl, and a plate were set neatly and in perfect order. At the end of the table, farthest from where the pink haired girl stood, were three figures paused in their actions, eyes all on the intruder.

"Ignore her," Whispered the man at the head of the table. At least, Sakura assumed he was a man. He didn't seem to have any animal characteristics. "Maybe she'll go away." He, the hare, and the mouse slowly resumed their actions, though very carefully. Occasionally their eyes would move to meet hers, then they would quickly return to the food in front of them.

It took a few moments before Sakura shook her head, surprised that she was even surprised by the scene, before she took a step foreword. "Excuse me,"

"H-Hello!" A tiny girl with mouse ears and a swinging tail waved up from her spot on the plate. In her hands she held a tiny bowl and tiny chopsticks that looked like they were made especially for her little hands.

"Shh!" The man in the hat hissed harshly. "Don't acknowledge her!"

The little mouse girl looked helplessly at Sakura, then back at the man, "B-But she is talking t-to us…"

"I can hear you." Sakura mumbled, irritably. She took another step foreword. "Can I at least sit down?" She approached a chair in the middle of the table, careful to not get too close. "I just ran from these two crazy twins, and I'd really like to rest."

The man in the hat finally met her eyes, and she couldn't help but marvel at how blue and piercing they were. His lips formed into a frown as he studied her up and down. Sakura also did the same, noting the whiskered cheeks and the top hat covering his blond hair. His clothes may have once been fancy, but now they were torn and dirty. The cleanest thing on him was a crystal around his neck. Finally, he sat back in the chair, closed his eyes, and folded his arms, "There's no where for you to sit. Go somewhere else."

"B-but," Sakura sputtered, "There are plenty of open chairs!" Her hand gestured to the expanse of the empty table.

"He doesn't want to share his ramen." The hare finally spoke. His green eyes stared her down.

"Oh, for the love of – look," Sakura stepped closer to the trio. They all watched her carefully. "I'm not trying to take your ramen away from you."

The hare and the mouse turned to look at the head of the table, waiting for his response. When he opened his eyes, Sakura couldn't help but notice there was a slight red tint. "You swear you're not here to steal my ramen?"

Sakura raised her hands in the air in surrender. "Absolutely promise."

A beat of silence and baited breath. And just like that, a toothy grin broke out on the man's face and he gestured for her to sit down, "Then grab a seat and have whatever else you want!" He continued to grin as he began shoving cakes and tea in her direction, "I'm the Hatter!"

"I do like you're hat." Sakura offered.

"Of course! It's because I make them the best." His chest puffed out a little before he turned and smacked the hare on the back. "This is the March Hare." His hair and ears were dark red. The color seemed to go perfectly with the dark lines surrounding the green of his eyes. The March hare met her gaze and bowed his head in silent greeting.

"I'm the Dormouse." Her delicate light violet eyes smiled back at Sakura. "Pleased to meet you."

"I'm Sakura." Gratefully, Sakura pulled out the chair and sat down. "Thank you for letting me join you."

"Anytime!" The Hatter grinned at her with ramen hanging from his lips.

It was automatic; "You really shouldn't talk with food in your mouth."

The Hatter laughed and continued eating with the others, but Sakura found herself momentarily nauseous. She didn't think when she scolded the Hatter. It just felt right.

"You're not eating." The comment came from the March hare. She looked at him for moment.

"Everything okay?" The Hatter watched her with shining blue eyes. Sakura felt a small pressure on her arm and noticed the Dormouse next to her.

Sakura was touched by their concern, and she felt herself smile. "I'm sorry. I don't even remember what was wrong." It was true. Whatever the strange feeling was had fled. All that was left was love and comfort from the table, as though they had always been in her life. "Thank you." She reaffirmed and to convince them, stuffed a cake in her mouth.

"Hey," The Hatter asked, his mouth full of ramen again. When Sakura glared at him, he swallowed before continuing, "Do you know why a raven is like a writing desk?"

Sakura paused in her eating before shaking her head slowly, "No, I don't know. Why is a raven like a writing desk?"

The Hatter's face scrunched up and he sat back in the chair. "I don't know, that's why I was asking you!"

A quiet snicker was heard, and Sakura's head snapped over to the March Hare, just briefly catching a smirk before it disappeared.

"S-Sakura," Sakura almost missed the quiet voice of the Dormouse, "Are you going somewhere?" A tiny blush appeared on the little cheeks while she played with her long black hair, "I-I mean, since you were tired from running."

"I'm looking for the White Queen so I can get home."

There was a sound of clanking silverware on plates. The three characters looked at each other. Sakura wondered if she had said a forbidden word. "You should be careful," The Hatter said slowly. "If you search for the White Queen, you could get caught up with the Red Queen."

"There's a Red Queen?"

"Ah!" The Hatter stood up in his chair and pointed chopsticks at a shocked Sakura, "You need to be more aware!"

"That's why I'm asking you!" Sakura pouted. A beat of silence passed before The Hatter sighed and sat back in his chair.

"The Red Queen and the White Queen are fighting to take over. The White Queen is awesome, but that Bloody Red Queen," The Hatter's hands clutched at the arms of his chair, his knuckles turning white. His blue eyes swirled with a red tint. "That damn bloody Red Queen beheads people and took-"

"Hatter!"

Red eyes snapped back to blue, and a nervous smile came upon his lips, "Sorry,"

"It's fine." Sakura smiled gently at the Hatter. And it really was fine. In the back of her mind, Sakura thought that she ought to have been frightened, but couldn't find in herself to actually be afraid of him. "Even if I have to get caught up in the war, I really want to get back home, so…" Sakura met eyes with the Hatter, and a grin found a way back onto his lips.

"Of course you do! I didn't think you were the type to give up!"

"Thank you." Sakura stood up, pushing her chair back, "I really feel energized now."

"Ah!" The Hatter also stood up. He leaned over the table, reaching past the other occupants to grab a napkin. After piling cakes into the cloth, he messily folded the napkin and handed it to her with a grinning face, "Take it and be super careful!"

Sakura reached out and took the package gratefully. And like a sudden wave, a sense of emptiness filled her. The two stood there. Sakura's arms extended, accepting the gift handed to her. His oh-so-familiar grin plastered on his face while he waited for the package to be taken. A breeze blew Sakura's long hair away from her face, but still her gaze seemed hazy. Green eyes stared up into blue and she cocked her head. "Hatter," Sakura asked, her expression was pensive and serious. The Hatter watched her carefully, paying close attention, "Do…" Sakura paused, "Did I know you?"

The Hatter's brilliant blue eyes blinked slowly as they moved off to the side, his brain elsewhere. Finally, he shook his head. "No, I don't think so." When he saw Sakura's eyebrows fold together, he rushed to continue, "But it would be great if I did!" He smiled at her and before she knew it, pulled her into a hug.

Sakura relaxed in his arms and buried her head in his shoulder, "You're right." She smiled, even though he couldn't see it, "I'd never forget a friend like you."

* * *

The sense of belonging and contentment Sakura had when she left the ramen party lasted a long while. It only ended when the growling began, and she knew she had somehow stepped into the wrong area.

Growling.

She could hear it; feel the baring of teeth. Instinct told her to run. Fear held her in place.

Whatever it was, it was big and frightening sounding. She couldn't see it, only hear and feel it.

Maybe it didn't see her – no, she knew it did. It was eyeing her.

SNAP

From the left! Her body moved.

More growling – from the right this time! With each sound, Sakura moved. It didn't take long to realize she was moving in circles.

_Time to try a new tactic_. Sakura held her hands out, "I'm not here to hurt you, I'll just back away and try a new route."

There was heavy snarling.

Now silence. Sakura held her breath. Was it over? Did the beast listen to her? Or was it the silence before the storm? Sakura took a cautious step backwards.

Like lightening, the beast came from behind her and pinned her down. It was growling at her. A few drops of spit fell on her back. She craned her neck. There was a large dog-looking beast on top of her. It had brown fur and red streaks on the cheeks. One paw was one her back, the immense strength pinning her down – making it hard to breath. Hot breath neared her neck and Sakura turned her head. She did not want to look while he tore into her.

"HEY!"

The weight was gone. In the back of her mind, Sakura registered a brief whimper and the sound of heavy breathing, but she was more focused on regaining her breath.

Finally she forced her weary body to turn onto her back. Green eyes widened as she watched the scene. With sword out and onyx eyes piercing, her Prince had returned. She watching him slash at the beast. It dodged, but did not back down.

The Prince back up, his back facing Sakura, sword out and ready to protect. The large dog didn't move. It was a glaring contest, each willing the other to back down.

Something was off. With effort, Sakura pushed herself off the ground and stood on her shaky feet. She knew the Prince was eyeing her. "You move from my protection, you're on your own." He snapped.

"Trust me." She whispered, afraid to provoke the beast. She slowly shuffled to the right. The brown eyes of the dog shuffled between the Prince and Sakura. Her hands were held up in surrender. Experimentally, she took a tiny step foreword. The dog beast's brown eyes focused on her and its head lowered, growling intensifying. She took two steps back and the dog's eyes again warily moved between the two humans. Sakura craned her neck to look past the dog. The large beast barked at her, causing both Sakura and the Prince to jump.

While Sakura jumped back, the Prince jumped foreword, sword aimed at the beast's head. The dog didn't move, only caught the sword in its teeth. The Prince yanked the sword out and prepared to strike again until Sakura called out, "STOP!"

The Prince did not look at her, but his sword was aimed between the brown eyes of the dog. "What?" He snarled.

"It's protecting this area." Sakura reached into her pockets and pulled out the food the Hatter had given her. She knelt down onto the wooded ground and held out a cake in her hand. "It probably has some pups somewhere close." Her eyes never left the dog's.

The Prince slowly backed up, his sword still drawn, but no longer in the large dog's face. Sakura inched foreword, the food in her hand. "We won't hurt you." She was getting closer. "Here." She dropped a piece of cake onto the ground in front of the dog. Neither moved for a moment. The brown eyes of the dog studied her. She could feel the Prince behind her, tense and ready to break in.

Finally, the beast licked up the cake. His eyes still wary, but the growling had ceased. Sakura smiled and held out another piece of cake. The dog only hesitated a moment before relieving her hand.

Sakura giggled at the sensation. "Good." She replied. "Here," She reached for the rest of the food and handed it to the dog. "Give this to the rest of your puppies." Slowly, she reached the unoccupied hand up and rested it on top of the dog's head. It flinched, but didn't move. Her fingers curled and began to scratch.

"You're too reckless." A voice came behind her. The dog eyed him carefully before snatching the package held in Sakura's hand and disappearing into the bushes.

"I suppose, but I'm glad I could stop you from killing this time." There was silence and Sakura's eyes widened. Why did she say that? "I'm sorry." She corrected. Sakura turned to face the Prince, a smile present on her face, "Thank you for saving me."

"Hn."

The bushes rustled, and the dog reappeared with a white puppy in tow. The puppy sniffed at Sakura, inching towards her hand, then began licking at whatever crumbs the brown dog had missed. Sakura giggled, rubbing the smaller dog's back.

"You're trying to go home, aren't you?"

"Ah, yeah. Do you want to come with me?" Her voice was quiet. Sakura didn't turn towards him when she asked, only continued to absent-mindedly pet the puppy. She didn't know why she was nervous, or even why she so desperately wanted his company.

"Hn." Sakura heard footsteps walking away from her. The footsteps continued for what may have been a few feet before they paused. "Are you coming or not?"

A beautiful grin spread on Sakura's face. She jumped up, causing the puppy to yelp and hide behind the older one. "Yes!" She stepped beside the Prince, her grin never once leaving her face. "Were you heading there too?"

He looked at her once before nodding and continuing his walk. "Keep up. You need to get home."

"Of course." Sakura hurried to keep up with his long strides. She fought a blush and a giggle. "Thanks again, Prince." She said softly.

The Prince eyed her warily, an unidentifiable look in his eyes. Before Sakura could discern what it was, his head was foreword and his face as unreadable as ever.

* * *

The woods seemed peaceful this time around. Everything seemed almost normal (_though, what really was normal anymore?_). Sakura couldn't help but smile at the Prince beside her. Was it because of him? It was odd that he wasn't so odd. She felt so comfortable around him, safe and protected.

"Why are you looking at me?"

Sakura blinked, the smile disappearing from her face. "Sorry," A blush appeared on her face just as she turned away. "I didn't even realize I was." Sakura coughed and hurried to change the subject, "So why are you headed to the White Queen?"

"Errands."

"What kind of errands?"

"The kind that does not need explanation."

"Ah." She couldn't help but feel disappointed at the answer. Her gaze was on anything but him, she pouted her lips a bit and felt slightly childish. She _did_ just meet him, and it was his business. "Look-"

"Sh." Sakura found a hand over her mouth that wasn't hers. With his other hand, Prince had a finger over his own mouth, his gaze focused elsewhere.

Sakura stopped to pay attention to her surroundings. Somehow, the peacefulness was interrupted. Something was wrong. What was once filled with the singsong of birds and other creatures now contained a loud silence. Even the trees seemed to be stilled.

No, there was a sound. It was rhythmic, a shaking on the ground. It was coming towards them.

"Shit." Sakura's head snapped over to the Prince. He was scowling and tense. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but the rhythmic beating was upon them. As the source of the sound came closer, Sakura recognized the sound to be marching.

Through the woods came a long line of human-like snakes. They stood on two legs and had two scaly armored arms. Red capes flowed behind them like the red sea. Their slitted eyes were sharp and unnerving. Sakura fought to stay in her place beside Sasuke and not step backwards. As they came closer, they lined up in front of the Prince and Sakura making a total of three rows of eight.

The rows split and let through another snake man, this one more human than the others. He pushed up his glasses, the glint of the sun from the trees hiding his eyes. "I'd like it very much if you two would follow me, please."

Sakura looked up at the Prince, expecting to see a drawn sword and a fighting stance, but there was nothing. His eyes were cold and calculating, eyeing up the opposition. Sakura too turned to the group. Perhaps the Prince had chosen right. There was no sense in fighting a loosing battle. She wasn't going to get home if she was dead.

"Fine."

The words were not spoken by Sakura. A hand grabbed at her wrist, and it did not let go. The grip only tightened as they were surrounded and led away.

* * *

The trip was silent. No one talked. The leader of the group would occasionally give the pair a sleazy smile, but would go no further when the Prince would catch his gaze.

By the time they reached their destination, the Prince had yet to loosen his grip on Sakura's wrist and Sakura was sure it was going to be bruised.

The destination itself was a large castle. A large blood red flag hung over the door. There was no wind to cause it to move. It simply hung there like a dead animal mounted as a prize. The area around the castle was dark and desolate. The forest had ended a mile back and only sand was left. Sakura smirked to herself, "Don't built your house on sand."

They were led inside and down a long hallway. The snake men were tall, Sakura could not see what was ahead of them, but by the Prince's tensing shoulders and increasing frown, she knew it was not pleasant.

When they finally stopped at what Sakura assumed was the end of the hallway, the snake-men in front of her and the Prince stepped to the side to reveal a man – no, another snake-person on a thrown. It had purple eye shadow and sickly yellow eyes. Long black hair covered half of its face. Fancy red clothing covered pale white skin. A crown rested on the head of the snake person, and Sakura realized with horror, that she stood before the Bloody Red Queen.

"Ah," The Red Queen smiled, though it did not seem welcoming or happy. It was fitting for the snake person before her and caused Sakura to involuntarily shudder. "Welcome back, my Red King."

* * *

Dun-dun-dun! So… who saw that coming? Probably everyone. Anyway, I tried to make it creepy and dark. I especially loved writing the moment between Naruto and Sakura.

Next up, his fun evil Red Queen nonsense and beheading! Woot!

See that review button? Please hit it! Reviews make the author happy, which leads to my inspiration, which leads to more updates more often. Thus, in short:

**Reviews = happy inspirited author = faster updates**

So,** please review! **Improvements, comments, questions, and predictions are welcome!


	4. Heads Will Role

My prediction came true! My reviews per chapter have been doubling, which is heartening. That means if my theory is correct, there should be at least eight reviews this chapter. Come on people, if we pull together, we can make it happen!

**Thank you to all my reviewers so far! **Especially the returning and faithful** L Bell Sha **and** LadyMartell4000!**

**Down the Rabbit Hole  
**.:Chapter 4 – Heads Will Role:.

_Falling down the hole  
Beware the bloody red queen  
Falling down the hole  
Be careful not to be seen_

_Deeper and deeper you go  
Careful not to get too far  
Deeper and deeper you go  
Remember who you are_

"Welcome back, my Red King."

Sakura's gaze immediately snapped over to the Prince – no, to the Red King. "You-" The rest of the accusation died on her lips. She was speechless. A feeling of betrayal (_again?_) settled deep in her stomach. Her horrified gaze dropped to their connected grip. She didn't want anything to do with him. She wrenched her wrist from his grasp. He let her go without a fight.

"Why don't you say something?" She hissed.

His already tense shoulders hunched slightly as he turned away. If she didn't know any better, she would have said that the Red King had flinched.

"As much as I find this scene delectable," The Red Queen's voice broke through. Sakura turned her angry glare towards the snake, "I want to know why the White Queen is still alive, Red King."

Again, Sakura felt a rage boil inside her. "Errands, huh?" She did not turn towards the tense Red King beside her, did not allow him to see the unshed tears of hurt in her eyes. He did not deserve her tears.

"Why were my orders not followed?" The Red Queen continued.

"Aw," Sakura's smirk was spiteful when she finally turned to man beside her, "A _King _under the _Queen_ not following orders? Some good King you are."

"If I recall," The Red King stated, his voice seemed calm with an underlying annoyance, "I never claimed to be your prince charming or anything else good for that matter."

"But you certainly didn't stop me from believing it, either."

"Enough." The Red Queen snapped. His yellow eyes studied the two humans in the room. The anger Sakura previously felt was becoming overrun by a strong sense of fear and foreboding when the traveling gaze finally stopped to bore into her. "I don't like you." And then in sickly slow curve upwards, his lips formed a distorted smirk. Sakura knew what was coming, yet she couldn't move, couldn't talk – only stare, horrified, at his lips as the words she expected came out, "Off with her head."

The snake soldiers came foreword, ready to grab at her. Sakura thought she heard the Red King shout, but she wasn't paying close attention. The grabbing claws of the snake men were at the back of her mind. The gears in her head churned as scaly hands tilted her head back. The sound of a struggle was muffled in her ears.

"A game!"

The movements stopped before Sakura realized that it was her own voice that spoke out. All eyes were on the Red Queen.

"Pardon?"

"A game." Sakura said, aware of her own voice and position. Her head was still tilted backwards, a sword against her neck. She struggled to keep her voice from shaking. "I propose a game."

The Red Queen set in a contemplative silence. Sakura took the chance to glance over to her side. Five snake men were holding the Red King. He was staring at her intently, as though trying to send her a message. Despite the sting of betrayal, Sakura found herself desperately hoping he was wishing for her safety, wishing for luck to come her way. With that in mind, she sent him a reassuring smile. His onyx eyes widened briefly, but the Red Queen spoke before she could analyze his reaction.

"You intrigue me. Let the girl go." The hand holding her head and the sword disappeared, and Sakura let out a shaky breath – _when had she stopped breathing_? "I will accept your offer, if it is a game of my choice."

Sakura was hesitant, "Only if it doesn't involve hurting anyone."

"You try my patience. Still, I will allow this one stipulation." The Red Queen stood up from the throne, red cloth flowing around the snake. "Do not forget who has granted you mercy."

Sakura ground her teeth together. It was difficult to forget the feel of the steel on her skin. Unconsciously, her eyes drifted over to the Prince. He was still, but his eyes still pleaded with her. 'Don't play his game.' His lips formed the words, but no sound came. Sakura's eyebrows creased in question.

"Though," The Red Queen stopped their silent conversation. Sakura eyed the Queen warily, "I do hate to waste a good beheading." A pale finger pointed at something behind her. "Behead him."

Sakura followed the pale finger to the snake man once holding on to her. Her eyes briefly met his wide, frightened black orbs before his gaze – no, his entire head fell to the floor.

Sakura only stared foreword to where the head once was, her eyes refusing to acknowledge the red spray or the swaying headless body. The body hit the ground with a resounding thump that echoed in Sakura's head. In a trance, Sakura's gaze fell towards the stained red on her blue shirt_. I thought it would be green_. Her hands lifted to her eyesight – they too were red and not green. It was strangely fascinating. In the back of her mind, somehow, Sakura knew, _knew_, that she was in shock. Yet, she could do nothing but stare at the red – then at the seeping headless lump at her feet. Another voice – a quiet voice that sounded like it was buried deep in the recesses of her mind screamed at her to move, to react because this was _not _a new sight.

There was a tug on her arm. Muffled voices reached her ears.

"…_change… to put up a challenge…"_

"_Watch them."_

There was another forceful tug causing Sakura to stumble and follow where she was being led. The world was hazy. Her head hurt. She put a hand on her head to ease the throbbing, only to feel the stickiness sliding across her forehead.

The tugging finally stopped followed by a slam and a click.

"Go shower and change." That voice caused Sakura to snap back into reality.

A pile of cloth was thrown in her direction, and on reflex she caught it. Sakura held the pile in her arms and looked around the room. It was small, but well furnished. A large bed with a red cover indicated that she was standing in a bedroom. The Red King sorting through drawers, mumbling to himself indicated that she was in _his_ bedroom.

The Red King pulled out a red towel from a drawer. He looked at it, then at her. Coming to a decision, he sighed and brought it over to her and piled it on top of the clothes in her arms. They stared at each other in silence. Finally, the Red King let out another sigh and looked away, "You okay?"

Sakura's eyes widened briefly before she smiled softly, "Yeah – wait," The memory of what happened before hit her full force. Betrayal made her stomach heavy, "Why do you care? Traitor." She turned away, disappointment etched onto her expression.

"So Annoying. You think if I didn't care, I wouldn't have saved you all those times?"

"Why?"

Sakura watched, curious. She knew, like how she knew his desperately needed presence was a comfort to her, that if she watched is expression carefully he would answer subtly. If she hadn't been watching so carefully, she wouldn't have noticed his eyes widen just a fraction before returning to their normal size and meeting her gaze. "Why what?"

"Why did you save me?"

"Ch. Because you don't belong here." With that said, he put his arms on her shoulders, spun her around to face a door, and pushed her. "We're done with this conversation. You need to shower, change, and then face up to that idiotic decision to play a game with that creeper."

Sakura turned her head, an eyebrow raised and a mischievous smirk on her lips, "Are you supposed to be _married_ to that creeper?"

Sakura imagined that the expression that appeared on the Red King's face was one that no one had ever seen or would ever see again. The Red King sputtered. He _sputtered_. "What the hell?" His wide eyes and gaping mouth turned into narrowed eyes and a sneer, but the red hue of embarrassment on his ears did not lessen. "Don't read so damn much into titles." He shoved Sakura into the bathroom. Even with the door closed, Sakura knew he could hear her laughing from the other side.

* * *

"I feel like a child." The change of clothes consisted of a baby blue dress with black buttons and puffy sleeves. The dress came down to the middle of her shins, and the rounded collar of the dress stopped just above her cleavage. She still wore her black boots and white stockings. With a black headband and bow in her long pink hair, the change of those was complete.

"You act like a child." The Red King offered a smirk. Sakura pouted for a moment before realizing she was only helping his insult.

A knock on the door interrupted the two, "The Red Queen demands your presence."

"Demands." Sakura mumbled, "Can't request like a proper queen."

"Sakura." The Red King's voice was deep and even. She met his eyes. They were cold and hard, with a tinge of concern, "Be careful."

* * *

"The game is chess."

"I can see that." Sakura had been led outside to the courtyard. It wasn't a very pretty courtyard. Grass, trees, and anything of color was absent. Grey walls surrounded the sand yard, and Sakura thought that the area felt more like a prison. What stood out was an oversized black and red checker board in the middle of the sand.

Sakura stepped over to the board and stood on a corner square. She fit perfectly. A sinking feeling caused her stomach to drop. She turned to the Red King for assurance. At first glance, he seemed to be free of cares and worries, but she noticed the slight narrowing of eyes and the tense shoulders. He felt something was wrong as well.

"Now, pawns, assemble." The Red Queen hissed the words out and immediately snake men began to step onto the tiles, filling in spaces where it was needed. Some snake men, Sakura noted, wore a horse mask, and some had their helmet pulled down, while others wore a tall hat shaped like a castle. One snake man wore a crown.

"If you'll note, girl, you will control those with the black capes. I will control the red. Now," A sickly grin formed on the pale lips. "My dear King, please take your position." Eyes turned to the Red King.

Slowly and gracefully, like roulette in slow motion, the Red King's once black eyes began to turn a deep red. His arms crossed and the crimson eyes visibly narrowed. "I will not take part in your sick game."

"Ah," The Red Queen raised pale arms, "But what is a queen without a king?"

"I will not be a pawn for you to protect."

"King." The Red Queen's eyes flashed dangerously. "You will take part in my game. If you do not, I cannot guarantee a good game."

The two were locked in domination match. The Red Queen's sneer descended. Eye contact was not broken, but words were spoken, "I grow weary of this. I need to be appeased." The Red Queen pointed to one of the snake men off to the side, "Come here so that I may cut off –"

"Please!" Sakura broke in. She stared only at the Red King, ignoring the smug look the Red Queen gave her. She inwardly flinched at the Red King's hard eyes, but held his gaze. "Please just be the King."

The Red King blinked once, frustration evident, before he unfolded his arms and stalked over to his placement on the board. "You're too annoying." A scowl took over his face, and once the Red King had taken his place, he arms resumed their crossed position. Despite the situation, Sakura was surprised to hear laughter from the back of her mind.

"If you hadn't noticed," The Red Queen continued, the sickly smile back on the pale lips, "We are the queen's of this game. As I am ruler, I will go first. E2, move to E4." A red snake man pawn moved up two spaces."

"E7, go to E5!" The mirroring black caped snake man moved.

"F1 to B5." The bishop moved diagonally. It was ready to take one of Sakura's pawns. _Think, Sakura. I know I've played this before - with someone really smart too. I can do this!_

"B8 to C6." The knight moved to protect the pawn. "Now," Sakura smirked. "You wouldn't sacrifice your bishop, would you?"

The Red Queen looked up, a hand rested on a pale chin. "Why," The straight lined lips suddenly turned upwards, "I do believe I will. B5, take out that knight at C6."

The bishop nodded, drew his sword, and without hesitation beheaded the knight.

Sakura watched with raised brows and wide eyes as the knight fell to the ground. The loud thud of the body echoed in the sandy courtyard. The Red Queen's laughter echoed even louder. "I love this game!"

Sakura stared at the unmoving body for a moment. The color of the blood blended in with the red square. "N-No." Sakura mumbled.

"Pardon?" Sakura heard the response. She was too focused on the dead body so she didn't see, but she heard the smirk in the Red Queen's voice. And it pissed her off.

"No!" Sakura's head snapped up to glare at the Red Queen. "You lied! You said no one would get hurt! Those were my terms!"

"Oh, but I have not lied. I can bring these creatures back to life" A haughty, proud laugh blared from the Red Queen's mouth as red clothed arms and crowned head raised towards the Heavens above, "I am god!"

Sakura didn't – couldn't respond. She could only stare, dumbfounded and horrified at this being before her. God? No. Human? Certainly not. Evil?

Yes.

The laughter ended abruptly. When the Red Queen's head and arms dropped, black hair covered half of the pale face. A disgusted sneer was evident. "It's your turn, girl."

"No." Sakura stood defiant, though her legs shook. "You can't play god, and I will not help you."

"You may not believe me to be god, but I certainly am god to your life right now." The Red Queen's neck was loweredwhile the head looked foreword. The light glinted off of the yellow eyes. Sakura thought that the Red Queen never looked more like a snake than right now. Words were hissed out, "If you value your head, I suggest you finish the game."

"I wont." Sakura's arms crossed. It locked in her defiance and held her shaking body.

"Sakura!" It was the Red King's voice. His voice was low, but powerful with a new edge to it. "Sakura, just finish the damn game." He was pleading.

"I can't." Sakura whispered. She was looking at the Red King's eyes. They were black again, she noted, "Even if I was able to make it home by finishing this game, I don't think I'd be able to live with myself. Not by this cowardly way. Not by following this snake's rules."

The angry, sneering Red Queen has gone silent. "Well, I suppose this wasn't a total loss then. I will still see a beheading. I believe I will do the honors." A booted red foot took a step foreword and all snake men in the Red Queen's path parted like the red sea leaving Sakura alone on the other side of the board.

"You know," The Red Queen licked dry lips, "I think I would like to bring you to life as one of my pawns." As The Red Queen took another, Sakura began to look around for a sword, a knife, a stick, anything. The grating voice of the Red Queen echoed in her ears, "I'll keep your pink hair." Sakura saw the Red King reach for his sword, tensed and ready to pounce, "Maybe even the green eyes." Sakura made ready to grab a sheathed sword from a nearby snake pawn. The Red Queen was close. Sakura could almost smell the rotting stench coming from its mouth, "Oh," She could hear the sickening smile, "But we'd have to get rid of that skin-"

"Your highness!" The Red Queen stopped and turned towards the unfortunate snake man that appeared by the courtyard gate.

"This had better be good, or your head will pay."

The single working eye did not reflect fear as the snake man nodded. "We've finally caught the hatter!"

"NO!" Sakura lunged foreword towards the gate. Scaly arms caught her on both sides. She struggled, wriggled, stomped her feet. Anything to get free and help her friend.

The previously angered Red Queen straightened the red robes and clapped pale hands. "How wonderful! In the meantime, take the girl to the dungeon!" The Red Queen did not spare a glance back as the snake rushed towards the gate, "I shall take care of her later!"

"Hatter!" Sakura screamed. She hoped her voice would reach her friend. Let him know she was coming. Give him hope. The hands holding her did not budge. Instead, an even stronger grip squeezed her arm.

"I've got it handled." Sakura heard The Red King order. Sakura stilled.

"But sir-"

"Do not make me repeat myself." The many scaley hands then had held her back were removed. One steady grip was left. Sakura wrenched herself foreword. She heard the Red King grunt, but didn't care. "Calm down."

"No! The Hatter! We have to save him!"

"Ah, sorry to interrupt." Sakura paused and looked up. Before her stood the one-eyed snake man that had announced her friend's capture. "I wanted to apologize for being late." He winked. As Sakura was still digesting the idea of snake men winking, the eye patch was removed revealing a single red eye.

And then he was gone.

"Cheshire cat?" Sakura whispered. The arm that wasn't held reached out to the empty air in front of her.

Her amazement was interrupted by the Red King's voice, "We have to go." Sakura was brought back to reality. Her arm dropped as her head angrily whipped to turn and yell at the Red King.

"What about the Hatter? We can't just leave him!" She tugged at his grip.

"The Hatter knows what he's doing. Besides, it looks like the Cheshire Cat has it covered." The Red King's voice was calm. It only served to anger Sakura further. Sakura whirled her whole body in on him.

"You asshole, how can you know that?"

"You have to trust me." Frustration was creeping into his voice.

"Trust you?" Sakura shrieked. Memories of betrayal and desperation made her stomach hurt. "You betrayed me!"

"Sakura." The way he said her name. She paused and looked into his eyes. They were always the windows to his soul; the way she always understood him. "Trust me."

And she did.

* * *

The grey walls of the castle halls raced passed her vision. Occasionally, Sakura would see a snake man stand aside and let them pass. Idly, she wondered why they weren't stopped. When one did attempt to make a move to stop the two, The Red King let out a growl not unlike a rabid dog.

Walls began to look vaguely familiar. They were nearing the exit.

"Where are we going?"

The Red King seemed to yank her harder as the door to the outside became visible. "We have to get you to the White Queen. You can't stay here anymore."

"Why not?"

The Red King grit his teeth. "You're running out of time." As they passed the lever to the outside door, the Red King sent a red-hot glare towards the snake man. The receiving snake man jumped and pulled. The door opened.

"Out of time?"

The Red King harshly tugged at her arm, causing her to stumble. "Don't repeat me."

Sakura gaped, then felt her features form a scowl. "Hey," She snapped and pulled back. They were across the bridge to the castle and heading towards the empty sand ahead. The Red King stopped, but didn't turn towards her. "I don't understand what's going on." Sakura could feel her face becoming red as the anger, frustration, and confusion began to boil over, "I come here to Wonderland, and I don't know or remember why. Then I meet this crazy bunny who tried to kill me with his sword. I grow and shrink just by eating and drinking. A sign smacked me in the face. There's a ramen party with no room, a disappearing cat, and a freakishly large dog. And THEN," Sakura tore her arm from the Red King and used it to point accusingly at the still form in front of her, "I'm helped, betrayed, then helped again by that," Her pointing finger briefly pointed back to the grey castle before returning to the stoic man in front of her, "creep's King. Who, by the way, makes all the crazy mad people here seem like the sanest people I've ever met!" Sakura paused to take a breath. The deep silence that came from the Red King caused an even greater anger, "You!" She poked him, hard. "You confuse me the most, you arrogant asshole!" He turned to her at this, with an eyebrow raised. "I feel like I know you." She was becoming desperate, she knew. Her voice was reflecting her weary frustration, and she wished she would just _shut up_. "Even though I just met you, there are things I know. Like how you're not expressive, but I can still tell what you're thinking by the smallest movement – like there, see? You're eyebrow just moved up a little. You're amused by my little rant." Sakura's foot stomped. "Stop it." She ignored the slight twitch of his lips, "Or how I trust you even though you're supposed to be working for the enemy." Accusing green eyes stared up into onyx eyes. His eyes did not waver, but stared firmly and securely into hers. She found an odd sense of safety and satisfaction in that. Her puffed up angry demeanor popped and she physically and mentally deflated. "I just don't know what to do."

The Red King took her hand, gently this time, and said, "Then _trust _me." His voice and grip were firm. His eyes implored for her understanding and cooperation. Sakura felt a tired smile tug and her lips as her fingers curled around his hand.

"Okay."

He looked startled for a moment before he nodded and gently pulled. Hand-in-hand, they ran with the Red King pulling and Sakura following, watching his familiar back.

* * *

Sakura was tired. They had been running for God knows how long and she was going on automatic. Her feet were following the same rhythm, eyes staring off in the distance and thoughts nowhere in particular. So when the Red King abruptly stopped, she promptly ran into him and bounced back onto her butt.

"The hell?" Sakura rubbed her nose and glared up at the man in front of her. He said nothing. Did not turn to her. He was listening to something. She quieted and tried to listen as well. It was then Sakura also noticed they were back in the forest. She shook her head. How out of it was she that she didn't even notice when her surroundings changed?

A snapping. Sakura and the Red King turned to their left. The dog they had met before slowly pawed towards them, his head bowed and something blue in his mouth. He padded up to Sakura (The Red King beside her with his hand on his sword), and dropped the blue item at her feet. Sakura gingerly picked up the blue. It was the napkin that once held the snacks she had given the dog earlier. A wet nose nudged at her cheek. She smiled up at the large dog and placed a hand between his ears. "Thank you. I'm glad you liked the food." Her fingers curled to scratch brown hair and the dog's tongue flopped out.

"Dog-breath," Sakura and the dog turned towards the Red King. "Give us a lift."

The red stripes on the dog's cheek's puffed out when he huffed his response. He turned from the Red King and continued to nuzzle his face into Sakura's cheek and hair. She giggled as she heard the Red King let out a growl of his own. "You have to ask nicely," Sakura chastised.

"Dog-breath," Sakura swore heard the Red King's teeth grind together, "Sakura is tired, you want to help her out?"

The happily panting dog pulled away and whined a bit. He eyeballed Sakura. Sakura pulled herself to her knees and bowed her head. "It would be a great help."

The great brown beast yipped and lowered himself to the ground. Sakura smiled great fully and climbed up on the back offered. As the Red King stepped over, the dog began to growl lowly. A giggle escaped Sakura's lips as she heard another low growl come from someone other than the dog. All giggling stopped when Sakura felt the man climb on behind her. An intense heat radiated from her face when his chest pressed into her back and his arms surrounded her body.

Wordlessly, the dog got up, tested the new weight, and began bounding off. Sakura ignored the world around her. The only thing she could focus on was the comforting presence of the Red King. Unconsciously, she leaned back and breathed. It was a familiar scent of earth, fire, and something distinctly man. Her green eyes closed and visions of a black haired prince ran through her memory like an old film. The last thing Sakura Haruno thought she remembered before even the visions disappeared was the tightening of the protective hold around her.

* * *

This chapter was a little shorter, but I thought this was a good place to stop.

**Fun fact**: If anyone wondered, aside from being called the "Red Queen," I never actually mentioned Orochimaru's gender. It's more or less ambiguous, or rather; Orochimaru as the Red Queen could be either or neither, I hope people caught that.

Some questions for you to review on that I'm interested in hearing about:

**Did I make the characters too obvious?** In other words, were you surprised? Was it boring and predictable? Or even pleasantly predictable?  
**Were the characters in character?**  
**Were the Red Queen scenes creepy?** I did try for that, so I'm interested to hear if I was effective.  
**Which is your favorite scene so far?  
Any predictions**?  
**How cheesy are the poems at the beginning?** They are all parts of a whole that wrote for the story, but I do not claim to be a poet. In fact, I'm probably the opposite – whatever that is.

Don't forget the equation:

**Reviews = happy inspired author = updates = happy readers**


	5. On Our Way

**Down the Rabbit Hole  
.:Chapter 5 – On Your Way:.**

_Falling down the hole  
On a journey you will go  
Falling down the hole  
Find the sword that defeats the foe_

_Deeper and deeper you go  
Memories you must keep  
Deeper and deeper you go  
Or you will loose to sleep_

She didn't know whether it was the changing pace, the rain, or the less than subtle shrugging that woke her up from her peaceful slumber. Her body moved foreword again after a particularly harsh shrug. Sakura decided that it didn't matter which woke her up, she only needed to hurt one source, "I'm up, jackass." An elbow jabbed behind her. She felt some satisfaction in the grunt, "You could have just tried to call my name."

"It seemed more natural."

"Right. Well, now why was I naturally woken up?"

"We're here."

Sakura blinked a few times before rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Oh," Was her quiet response. The dirt path they were on was wide open and clear, which led to a very white castle at the end of the path. The castle itself wasn't overly large and daunting. In fact, it seemed welcoming – something Sakura was glad to see after their last castle encounter.

As they got slowed to a walk and came closer to the gates, a familiar large top hat came into view. A gasp escaped Sakura's lips. Her brilliant green eyes glistened as a grin broke out. She called out to figure waiting for them, her hand held high and waving. They weren't reaching the destination fast enough.

Impatience won over. Sakura shoved the Red King's protecting arm aside and went to slide off the beast. Her feet were running even before they touched the ground. She called out again. She sped past the dog, racing to blonde at the gates. He had returned her wave the first time, and still continued waving until she had jumped off her ride. Now he stood, blue eyes shining, with arms wide open and ready to catch her.

"Sakura-chan!"

Sakura buried her face into his faded and mothy clothes. "Hatter, you jerk," She lightly pounded her fist on his chest. "I was worried about you!"

She couldn't see it, but somehow she knew by his movement that one arm had stretched so he could nervously scratch the back of his neck. "Yeah, well I figured something would happen, so the Cheshire Cat and I came up with a plan. I guess it worked?"

Sakura pulled back, though her hands still clutched at his jacket, and smiled at him, "It did help, a lot. Thank you."

The pounding of feet came closer. Heavy footsteps followed and Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder. "Idiot."

"Hey, bastard." The Hatter's grin only seemed to brighten. "Hope you didn't cause too much trouble."

The Red King gently pulled on Sakura's shoulder, causing her to take a step back towards him. "You're hat still looks as stupid as ever."

"Hey!" The Hatter stomped and held his hat protectively, "My hat is amazing!"

As Sakura watched the Red King smirk, she felt her cheeks involuntarily heat up. She looked away, not wanting to meet his eyes. Instead, her eyes fell on another presence leaning on the other side of the gate. The person was dressed in an impossibly white buttoned up coat and Cloud-like pants while white sandals covered clean tan feet. Long white hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail that reached the puffy pants. The smirk that played tan lips seemed all knowing. "Good to meet you, Sakura." The deep, gravel of the voice was comforting.

"You're the White Queen?" The sound of the Hatter's ramblings about the importance of his hat faded into silence. All attention was on the man in white.

"Why do you sound so surprised?" His tone indicated amusement.

"I guess," Sakura twiddled her fingers, "I shouldn't be too surprised. Queens and Kings don't seem right here."

"Oh?" White eyebrows lifted, "And who is to say what is right and wrong?"

"You are pretty wrong in some ways." Hatter piped up behind Sakura.

"I appreciate beauty." The White Queen shrugged. His dark eyes softened slightly as they turned to the other man, "King, it's good to see you made it back."

"You know him?" Sakura looked between the two. Was it bad that they knew each other? Did the White Queen know about his betrayal? That he was on an errand to kill him?

"I do. He works for me. Sometimes he's a little shady, but he always comes back for the good. Why?" The smirk on his face knowing, and it was beginning to irritate her "Did you doubt him?"

Sakura had no answer. Heat radiated on her cheeks and for whatever reason, she was feeling bashful and ashamed. The White Queen sighed and pushed himself off the gate. "Well, you all are here now." His white high sandals did not make a dent in the dirt road as he walked over to Sakura. A hand was placed on Sakura's shoulder. "So, I have to ask," His voice was serious, and Sakura waited, "What size are you?"

From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw two fists pass her on either side. The man in front of her ducked. When he raised again his hands in front of him, surrendering. She heard some muttering on either side of her. The White Queen chuckled, "I'm sorry, I thought it was my duty to know all of-"

"Skip it." Hatter snapped. The Hatter and the Red King were both behind Sakura and had their arms crossed, glaring holes into the White Queen.

"Right. Now, onto my next question," The White Queen replaced his hand on her shoulder and made sure Sakura met his eyes when he asked, "Sakura, what do you want?"

"She needs to go home." The voice came from behind Sakura. It answered immediately, before Sakura could even think. It was deep, almost frustrated sounding.

The White Queen's gaze did not leave Sakura's as he patiently answered, "I wasn't talking to you, King. Sakura, you must decide this. What is it that you want?"

"I-" Sakura stopped. Eyebrows furrowed as she began to frown in thought. She thought she knew the answer. In fact, it should be simple, yet it wasn't. "Ever since I came here, I've been trying to go home." Her tone was thoughtful. The company was quiet, listening closely. Sakura continued, "This place is full of strange people, but I almost feel at home." She didn't hear it, but could feel the tensing behind her. It's true. This strange place was beginning to feel at home. A small, resigned smile began to form on her lips. "Yet," She looked at the three surrounding her. The White Queen was watching her carefully, listening, and understanding. Hatter was also watching her. He looked ready to pounce and support her in any fashion. And the Red King - Sakura stopped a little longer to study him. His lips were set in a firm line, fists clenched to the side and she could tell he was clenching his jaw. She offered him a reassuring smile before turning back to the White Queen. "Yet, something is missing – like _I'm_ missing something." Sakura straightened herself, "Yes, I want to go home."

"Good." The White Queen's hand that still rested on her shoulder squeezed lightly, "Hold on to that determination. It will get you where you need to go."

"Home?"

The White Queen nodded, "It will get you home. But first," He pulled a little on Sakura's shoulder, guiding her to begin walking with him towards the castle, "There is one last task you must complete. You have to defeat the jabberwocky."

"Why?"

They were walking, Hatter and the Red King following closely behind, through the entrance and into the interior of the castle. Sakura wasn't surprised to see that the castle was spotless and as white as the clothes the White Queen wore. "You could say that it's the main thing standing between you and your destination." The white queen led them to a wooden door. He knocked twice before it opened, "You could say that if you break the jabberwocky, you will break what is holding you back."

Sakura took a hesitant step into the room. It was fairly clean and lined with many orange books. Orange books that Sakura felt a curious need to look at. She was pulled back by a hand on her shoulder. The Red King shook his head in warning.

"I know it's here somewhere…" The White Queen was opening drawers, shuffling through papers, and shutting it again.

"Ah-ha!" The White Queen held up a scroll. He opened it and began to read it as she returned to the doorway. "It says here that you need the Vulpor sword to defeat the jabberwocky. The Duchess currently holds that. Once you have the vulpor sword, the jabberwocky will awaken and will wait for you to challenge it on Mount Jub-Jub."

"Then let's go."

Sakura turned at his voice and watched as the Red King briskly began walking out the door. "Hey!" Sakura's arms crossed as she leaned on one hip and stood in place. She waited.

The Red King appeared after a few beats with a heated glare already aimed for Sakura. "Did something happen to your feet, Sakura?"

"Why are you in such a hurry?"

"And your ears too?"

"You just keep saying I have to get home, but why are you in such a hurry?"

"Yes, King," The voice of the White Queen joined in behind her, "Do tell us."

The Red King's glare moved from Sakura to the White Queen. "You give me the creeps." He briskly turned and stomped away, no hope of return this time.

"King!" Sakura chastised, knowing he wasn't listening to her anymore.

A hand rested on her shoulder. "It's fine, Sakura." The old man offered her a smile. "Go with him, he will guard you well."

"I don't need guarding." Sakura pouted.

The White Queen threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. "No, I don't suppose you do." His grin remained on his face while his hand moved from his shoulder to ruffle her pink hair. "But keep me feeling better and stick with him."

Sakura removed his hand, "We'll stay together." Sakura assured him and took a step backwards towards the door leading to the hallway.

"Sakura-chan," The Hatter stepped foreword, "I'll meet you at Mt. Jub-Jub."

"Hatter, you don't have to. You've done enough."

"I want to see you off, Sakura-chan!" His tone was very matter-of-fact as his hand waved in front of his face., as though brushing away a bad smell "I just need to finish up some things here."

Sakura nodded and took another step backwards. She was in the doorway. Something stopped her from turning away, a sadness from somewhere she wasn't aware of – as though something was going to disappear.

"Go, Sakura. It will be okay."

When her black boots finally moved away from the door, the sadness that had once kept her still disappeared as though never there to begin with.

* * *

Sakura was getting used to Wonderland.

This idea occurred to her as she and the Red King passed a beach with an odd looking turtle with sunglasses and a gryphon with brown feather buns twirling in circles and singing something about dancing and lobsters. The strangest thing of all was that while Sakura was certainly curious, it did not weird her out like she felt it should.

And then she thought 'Why should it bother me? Like the White Queen said, who is to say what is strange and what isn't?'

But that wasn't right. She was getting used to Wonderland, indeed. So much so that she could no longer remember anything before her entrance here. Wonderland was all she knew – and that wasn't much to begin with. But was it enough? She was happy here. She had great friends. Still, something was missing, and at the very least, Sakura wanted to find out what it was.

* * *

As Sakura watched the Red King silently march ahead of her, she briefly wondered if she would recognize 'home' when she got there.

The Duchess' house wasn't as big as a castle, but it at least rivaled a mansion. Before the large building was yard with plants of all kinds. The path Sakura and the Red King took to the door of the house was cobblestoned with green grass poking out from the cracks. Birds could be heard chirping from the trees creating a homely atmosphere. Sakura smiled slightly, thinking that if she were to stay in Wonderland, she wouldn't mind a place like this.

The Red King scowled when Sakura paused to enjoy the scenery. He stepped passed her and beat on the door twice.

The door cracked slightly, enough for a lady with brown hair and a chef's hat to poke her head through. "Yes?"

"We want to see the Duchess."

The lady blinked up at the Red King as though trying to decipher if he was serious. Finally she sighed, "One moment." And promptly shut the door.

Less than a minute later, the door was yanked open. A tall blonde stood in the doorway. Her hair in pigtails and a small circular crown was placed on the left side of her head. Her arms crossed over her giant bosom causing them to fluff out further in her green dress. She spoke before either of them could speak.

"No."

"But," Sakura sputtered, "I haven't asked you anything."

"I can tell by the look on your face." Her features looked bored. She shifted so that she was leaning on one leg and a hand rested on her jutting hip. "The answer is no."

"What if I were to ask you wanted a bag of money, then you would be sorry." The Red King pointed out.

"You aren't bringing me money. Don't try to fool me."

"How do you know?" Sakura wondered.

"You had this sad, needy look on your face."

Sakura blinked, a hand reached up to her cheek. Did she really look sad and needy? The Red King scoffed and took a step foreword, "Look-"

"No, you look, brats." Her hand was off her hip and now in their faces, "I don't care if you're the Red King – yes, I am pretty well informed, thank you – but I haven't the time for you, nor do I want to help you." The Duchess took a step backwards and put a hand on the door ready to shut it.

"What if we offer to help in return?"

The door immediately stopped its path of closing. The Duchess was hidden behind the half opened door, "…I'm listening. Make your offer."

Sakura looked to The Red King for help. He simply raised an eyebrow. She read it as, _'You made the suggestion. You get us out of this._' "We…" Sakura looked from The Red King to The Duchess, "We can help out with whatever you need so that you can make time for us." The duchess fully opened the door and leaned on the frame.

"We?" She heard The Red King comment beside her.

"Yes," Sakura replied before turning to him with hands on hips and green eyes blazing. "You want to get me home so badly, you get to help make this go faster!"

The Red King said nothing in return. The pair turned to the Duchess for an answer. It wasn't until Sakura watched a smirk crawl onto The Duchess' face that she began to wonder if she should have made the offer. The blonde pushed herself off of the door frame, took a step back, and motioned with her hand, "Come then. Let's get you started."

The Duchess led the pair through a long and twisty hallway. There were many different doors on either side and at one point, Sakura was sure they had circled around at least once.

Finally, The Duchess came to a stop and pushed open the door in front of her. She stepped into the room, motioning for the other two to follow her. Sakura took a step to follow the blonde, but stopped at the doorway to gap at the room while the Duchess continued to the desk in the middle. At least, Sakura assumed there was a desk in the middle. It was hard to tell with all of the papers covering and surrounding the middle. Unlike the rest of the mansion, it was incredibly messy. Bottles littered the room. Some stood on shelves, some were on their side on the floor. Others were in pieces. Cracks appeared in random places on the walls where it looked like someone had hit the white walls with great force.

_BAM_

"Here." Sakura's attention was drawn to the supposed desk in the center of the room where a massive stack of papers had been slammed. Sakura carefully made her way through the mess, stepping over pots, avoiding cracks in the floor. Once she was close enough, The Duchess shoved a paper into her hands. "You need to sign these papers. Here, see this signature?" The Duchess pointed to the signed name at the bottom of the paper in Sakura's hands, "Copy it and sign this stack with my name. Good luck." The Duchess was already skillfully weaving through the mess when Sakura got her bearings and turned to question the blonde.

"Hey, what are you going to do?"

"I have other things I need to do. People to see, liquids to drink. " She had reached the doorway and disappeared with a wave of her hand. Sakura turned to the King, but he was also moving away from the messy room.

"King! Where are you going?" Sakura fought the urge to stomp her foot.

"I'm a king. I don't do paperwork. I'll find you when you're done."

* * *

"You don't look like the Duchess."

Weary green eyes snapped up from the paperwork in front of her. A single black eye peered at her from his lounging position on the desk in front of her. She didn't even notice him come in – if he had actually come in and not appeared. Sakura stared at him for a moment, automatically eyeing him for any injuries from their last encounter. When she found none, she returned to the paper in front of her. "Thank you for noticing."

"Your chest is far too small."

The pen in her hand snapped. Sakura sighed and opened the lengthy drawer in front of her to search for a new one. "If you didn't help me out so much with the Red Queen, I would hit you."

"I don't think you could hit me, but I'll take what I can get." Sakura felt a breeze and then the voice that was once in front of her, now came from her left. "I'm more amused that she found another sucker to help her out."

"It's our deal." Sakura explained as her hand continued to dance on the paper in front of her. She moved it to her deemed 'signed' pile and picked up a new white sheet. "I'll keep up my end of the bargain."

"Fair enough. I should go to The Duchess now."

"I am almost done, do you know where to find her?"

"Sure. When you manage to escape the room, you make a left at the plant, then turn left before the eighth doorway. Make another left as soon as you made that other left and then turn around five times. Hop over to the fourth door and you should be there. Good luck!"

* * *

"I don't know why I even bothered to try and follow his directions." Sakura grumbled to herself. She was lost somewhere between lefts and turning around in place. "It's not like he actually walks anywhere anyway."

All around her seemed to be an endless hallway with an occasional available left or right. Sakura made the next left available. It was the same save for a small balcony at the end. Grateful for something different and the option of fresh air, Sakura nearly ran to the glass doors.

The handles twisted without resistance and the doors opened without a sound. A fresh breeze hit her even before she stepped outside.

"It seems your feet eventually led you in the right direction."

To her right lay the chain-smoking caterpillar. Despite being nearly wrapped up in a cocoon, he was still smoking. "You're here too!"

"Your observation skills seem to stick to the obvious."

"The Cheshire Cat is too."

"He comes and goes. He does stay her at times." He took another suck on his stick and blew out smoke, "You seem different."

"Do I?" Sakura leaned out onto the railing. Her voice was distant.

"But then, what do I know of what you are? You are only different from when I first met you."

"I suppose I am." Sakura tried to think back to when she first met the Caterpillar. Was she really that different?

"Did you loose yourself?"

"I am right here."

"Are you?"

Sakura finally turned from gazing off the balcony to watch the smoking insect. He was watching her in a way that made her question if he knew something she didn't know, or if knew anything at all. "I thought I was." She answered honestly. "Until you questioned it."

"You should question everything until you know for sure." The light at the end of the stick blew out and when The Caterpillar let go of it, it fell to ash and blew away in the breeze. He leaned back in his cocoon as it began to cover the rest of him. "You're on a fine line right now. You could go either way."

"What way?"

"Whichever way your feet take you." His voice was tired and distant. His eye dropping closed.

"Will I see you again?" She whispered.

"Perhaps, but probably not as I am now." He answered. "Find yourself." One last smoking breath escaped before he was still inside his cocoon.

"That is simply nature taking its course." Sakura turned to find the Duchess behind her in the doorway of the balcony. "Come." The blonde turned solemnly and waited in the hallway. Sakura took one last look at the covered caterpillar before closing the glass doors behind her.

* * *

"What's that?" Sakura motioned her head towards the wrapped pink bundle in The Duchess' arms.

"This?" The Duchess looked offended for a moment. "This is my baby, of course."

The bundle sneezed and Sakura looked from the bundle to The Duchess and back again. Maybe she was crazy, maybe she was joining in with the rest of Wonderland, but Sakura really thought the baby looked like a pig.

Pink hair waved around her as Sakura shook her head. "Duchess, I have a question." Sakura avoided looking at the pig look-a-like in the arms of the voluptuous woman beside her, "What is the jabberwocky?"

"The Jabberwocky is the Jabberwocky. Just like how you are Sakura, no one else."

"That was less than helpful."

The Duchess stopped in front of a door and turned to face Sakura. Hazel eyes looked directly into green. Her voice was stern and sure. "I cannot give you a definitive answer because there is none. The Jabberwocky is different for everyone." Sakura's hand unconsciously found her way to that place under her chin as she rolled around what she was just told in her head. The Duchess continued, "For some, the Jabberwocky means power. For some it is war. Others see wealth, their worst enemy, revenge, or even a friend. It is what you need to conquer. Your jabberwocky is yours alone."

Without waiting for Sakura, The Duchess pushed open the door next to them and walked in. Sakura followed shortly after to find a kitchen with a cook and The Red King. Sakura opened her mouth to greet her companion, but sneezes instead.

"I told you to ease up on the pepper!" The Duchess yelled out.

The lady that answered the door earlier jumped up from behind the counter and pointed a ladle at The Duchess. "Pepper makes everything better!"

"Not if you're sneezing the whole time! Look what you're doing to my baby!" The bundle sneezed again. Sakura chose to ignore it.

"Duchess…"

"Right." The Duchess handed the pink bundle (Sakura briefly glanced at the snout peeking through before turning away) to the cook and opened a cabinet. She reached inside and carefully pulled out a long sword wrapped in blankets. Reverently, The Duchess stepped over to Sakura and carefully placed the items into her arms. "You are ready." She said and she stepped away.

Sakura stared at the item she held in her hands. It was heavy. She looked up at the Red King. He was watching her. He made to step towards her, but the Duchess stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "No." She shook her head. "Sakura must carry this alone."

"We can still go with her and support her."

"We?" The Red King turned to the newest body in the room. Despite the covered nose, mouth, and eye, Sakura could feel the grin as he placed a clawed hand on her shoulder.

"We. I shall go with you."

A great feeling swelled up inside Sakura. A sense of wholeness came upon her. It was strange, Sakura reflected. The four of them – the Cheshire Cat, the Red King, the Hatter, and herself had never been together at once, but she knew instinctively from somewhere that with the four of them together, Sakura could do anything – even find her way back to home.

* * *

**(A/N)** So, on a side note, it took forever to finish this chapter. I suppose it was simply not as fun as the others and I changed something big in the middle of it. Which leads me to…

**Fun fact**: Originally, I didn't have the duchess in there. I was going to have Tsunade as the White Queen and have her simply hand over the vuplor sword. Then I realized that was kind of anti-climactic. There has to be more I could do with this. I still had the duchess I could add in, but who could I use? Ah, yes, the three most powerful in Wonderland could coincide with the most powerful in Konoha (or at least, the original sennin.) And thus, Jiraya was brought in. Since he seemed to fit more with the white queen, or rather, Tsunade fit more with the duchess, I switched it and there you have a break before the climax. Actually, in partially sucked because I had written most of Tsunade as the White Queen before I realized I needed more, so if I accidently missed the wrong pronoun in there, I apologize. Good addition? Bad addition? Thoughts?

Two more official chapters after this! (Then a potential bonus that I've been planning)

Quick thanks and shout outs to **Namii, TheEmoChick, and Aria Lockheart**. Your reviews were greatly appreciated!

Questions for reviewing:

**Were you surprised by the appearance of Jiraya?** Since he wasn't my original choice, I was pretty surprised. I wonder if anyone else even thought it might be him.  
**What do you think the Jabberwocky be for Sakura?  
****Are the characters in character? Do they match who they are supposed to be in the book?**

**Reviews = happy inspired author = updates = happy readers**


	6. Of Dragons, Self, and Home

Special thanks to** Aria Lockheart **for reviewing so wonderfully and continuously!

**Down the Rabbit Hole  
.:Chapter six – Of Dragons, Self, and Home:.**

_Falling down the hole  
Slay the monster, save the day  
Falling down the hole  
Slay the monster, find your way_

_Deeper and deeper you go  
Madness takes its toll  
Deeper and deeper you go  
Into the rabbit hole_

They were together, the four of them, like they always belonged. The wholeness that Sakura felt once she knew the Cheshire Cat was joining their team never left her and only grew when the Hatter had joined in the fray. When with her team, Sakura did not worry about home. She did not worry about forgetting nor the strangeness of Wonderland. She did not worry about the jabberwocky because she knew. Sakura knew she would win. Sakura knew she would beat the jabberwocky and complete her quest. Sakura knew they could accomplish anything as long as they were together.

"It's curious," Sakura commented out loud. They were walking through a forest. The trees towered over them, blocking most of the light from the slowly setting sun.

The Hatter on her left looked over, "What is, Sakura-chan?"

"Us." She answered, adjusting the heavy sword on her back. "We fit together so well."

"I don't know about that." She heard the Red King mumble to her left.

"We do!" Sakura insisted, "It's like we've been together before."

"I doubt I would willingly work with this," The Red King jabbed a thumb in the direction of the blonde, "idiot."

"Hey!"

Before the Hatter could step closer to the King, the Cheshire Cat appeared between them. "Now is not the time."

"You're right." Sakura saw the Red King turn his head towards the sun, "We need to hurry."

Led by the Red King, the groups pace quickened.

"Still," Sakura continued, "I'm glad you are all with me." She beamed at each of the members of her team.

"Of course, Sakura-chan!" The Hatter adjusted his bowtie, looking proud.

"It's not like you need to be here, idiot." The Red King crossed his arms, glaring at the blonde beside him.

"Hey, stop calling me that!"

"Now, now."

As they continued to bicker, Sakura couldn't help the small smile on her face. It was all so natural, so familiar. Sakura's gaze flickered back to the setting sun. It was getting late and the shadows were creeping up. Come to think of it, for the life of her, Sakura couldn't remember it being dark here, yet she had felt like she'd been in Wonderland for a few days.

"Cheshire Cat," Sakura called. He stopped briefly, falling back to where Sakura was behind the still bickering boys. "Does the sun set here every few hours?"

"The sun sets when it feels that it is time." He answered.

Sakura found herself pouting. "So how do you know when the day is done?"

"That, Sakura-chan, depends on when the person feels like the day is done."

"I suppose," Sakura took one last glance at the sun behind her, "That my day is almost done."

"HEY!" A voice yelled out ahead, "Don't poke me with your sword! These are good clothes you're about to put a hole in!"

The Cheshire Cat's mask puffed out a bit before he disappeared and reappeared between the two boys in front.

Sakura would have intervened as well, but something was bothering her - tingling at the back of her brain. They were getting closer to the mountain. Sakura could see the mass in the distance, but she could also feel it. Something was pulling her, tugging at her insides. The bickering of her friends around her began to fade into the background. The mountain was her only focus.

Her head was pounding. It was a steady beat. Her feet were automatically moving along with the thumping.

The beat becoming faster, stronger, the closer she got to the mountain.

Faster, Stronger.

All else faded into nothing. Only the beating remained.

The Jabberwocky. It was calling her. She heard nothing else.

Faster. Stronger. Beating. Beating.

It was calling. Closer. Closer. She was so close. It was so loud. Steady.

The sword on her back pulsed, beating against her back in a rhythm that matched her heart and the pounding in her head.

_Fasterstrongerfasterbeatings trongerfast-_

Then nothing.

"Sakura-chan?"

Sakura blinked. She was ahead of them now. When had she passed them? The beating in her head was gone. Looking down at her feet, Sakura saw she had stepped onto the rising path towards the mountain top. Towards home.

"Sakura-chan? Are you okay?"

Sakura turned, ready to assure him, but her words stopped short in her throat. Instead, a sound came from deep inside her. It was a deep and usually welcome sound, but it only served to cause worry to the trio.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" A familiar deep voiced the question in their minds.

Sakura began to double over, her hands covering her stomach and tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

"Me?" She could barely speak, "What the hell is wrong with your clothes?" A shaking finger pointed at the blonde, "What century did you steal those old clothes from?" The finger moved to the purple and grey cat, "Don't get me started on those cat ears. I didn't know you were into that. And you!" Sakura had to hold her stomach again. "Those royalty clothes really fit you. I bow in your royal presence, oh great Sasuke." If she wasn't already bowing from her laughter, Sakura would have mock-bowed for his royal highness.

Sakura's doubled over form was unable to take in the reaction from her teammates. She only heard a muddled, "What's wrong with my hat!"

"What did you call me?" That voice was clear, demanding.

Sakura stood up straight, wiping the rest of the tears from her eyes. "Sasuke-kun."

"Bastard was right," She heard Naruto whisper to Kakashi. "We really do need to get her home."

"What?" Her eyes narrowed at the blonde before traveling to her other companions. They knew something she didn't.

"Wonderland, Sakura." Her eyes snapped back to Sasuke. He was eyeing her with that unreadable expression of his, yet he almost looked cautious and a new emotion added a small shine. Hope.

"Wonderland?" Memories came rushing at her at an accelerated rate, like watching a movie fast foreword all around her. _'You're late.' Ticking. 'Follow your feet.' Tick-tock' You're catching on… we're all mad here.' 'I'd never forget a friend like you.' Tick Tick'Offwithherhead!''Youneedtogohome.'RING!_ The memories stopped and Sakura found herself reeling. King Sasuke stepped up to steady her. "Oh." She managed out.

"Being this close to the way out must have jarred your memory." King Sasuke held her for a moment before letting go once he was sure she was okay.

"Will Sakura-chan forget about us?" Sakura's head snapped to meet worried blue eyes. The same eyes of her best friend outside of this world.

"No!" She protested. How could she? But then she had forgotten her home here, "Well…" The sadness in Hatter Naruto's eyes caused Sakura's head to shake forcefully, "No!"

"Let her go, Hatter." Kakashi, cat ears and all, looked forlorn but accepting and determined. "She doesn't belong here. She needs to go home, now."

"I can't forget about you." Sakura assured them both. Her hands formed fists at her side. "I wont."

"You wont have to. Just give us the sword." The group's attention moved towards the two figures appearing from the woods. Their walk was slow, deliberate, and taunting. Golden eyes never left the sword on Sakura's back. She shifted, angling the weapon so it was out of eyesight.

"Red Queen." King Sasuke acknowledged. A hand went to the sword at his side, ready to pull out when necessary. Beside her, Hatter Naruto growled, the edge of his eyes tinting red.

"It's good to see you all here." The snake man beside the Queen pushed up his glasses and dipped his head slightly.

"I wish I could say the same." The Cheshire Cat responded brightly.

"While I doubt your intentions were to help me, dear King," Golden eyes glared at King Sasuke before turning to Sakura eyeing her up and down, "It is good that you got her out to grab the Vulpor sword for me. Dear little Sakura," A sharp tongue licked cracked lips, "if you would be so kind as to hand that sword over –"

"Like hell!" Hatter Naruto snapped. He stomped foreword to step in front of Sakura, next to King Sasuke who had also moved in front of her during the Queen's speech.

"What are you looking for?" Sakura blurted out. She looked around King Sasuke's shoulder, "Why do you want to slay the jabberwocky?"

A sick smile twisted on the dry lips as the Queen answered, "I want to live forever." Scaled hands clutched at the breastplate armor. "I will forever rule this land; never dying."Golden eyes blinked and were once again on Sakura. "I will truly be a god." Then the smile was gone, replaced by a frown. "Now, give us the sword."

"That's Sakura's!"

A scaled brow raised in amusement. "So be it." Slowly, lips began to move upward. "It's more fun this way anyway." The air suddenly became heavy with tension. The woods shook as though they were alive. The rhythmic sound of marching feet was heard from the forest.

"Knave," the Queen instructed to the bespectacled snake beside him. "I want you to grab that sword for me."

With a nod, the knave began to move foreword. Hatter Naruto also jumped foreword, meeting him the middle. His eyes were red and the whisker marks began to flare.

In front of her, Sasuke pulled out his sword. "Sakura, go!"

"I can't leave you!" Sakura mimicked his movement, yanking out the sword on her back. She had to use both hands to hold it.

"You don't have time!" His eyes flickered to the horizon, then back to the oncoming battle before him, "Go!"

"No!" Sakura stepped beside him while Cat Kakashi disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the snake men. They blinked at him, unsure of how he made it there for a moment while he waved. They came to their senses at once and ran at him. He disappeared again leaving some snake men to stab each other.

"Sakura!" Her attention turned back to the King beside her, "All this will be for nothing if you don't go right now!"

Sakura turned to her fighting friends again. They needed her and she couldn't do this without them! How could she just leave them? She watched Hatter Naruto get the best of the knave and knock him into the tree. He ran out to help Cat Kakashi. No, where was Kakashi?

There! Sakura's green eyes widened as she watched him appear in the wrong place and a sword pierced through his stomach.

Time – it seemed to work differently here, and Sakura was so sure that time had slowed down. Sound was working against her as well, for all noise of the battle had grown silent and all she could hear was the squishing of metal against organs.

"No!" Sakura lurched foreword, nearly dropping the sword.

"Sakura!" King Sasuke caught her wrist. She struggled, "Go!" His words did not reach her and he yanked her back roughly, forcing her watery green eyes to look at him. "Listen to me. You can save him by defeating the jabberwocky." She was listening this time, but her gaze still wanted to wander off, "Sakura." There. The way he said her name – so much like the Sasuke she knew. Her attention was fully on him. "Trust me."

With a heavy swallow and eyes screwed shut, Sakura nodded and turned, without looking back, to head up the mountain. She heard Sasuke start to move foreword. She barely registered the taunting words that the Queen threw at them. The silent response that King Sasuke sent was set at the back of her mind. Sakura Haruno had to make it up to the jabberwocky. There was no turning back.

* * *

Sakura paused only once to look over the side of the mountain path at the battle below. King Sasuke's eye met hers and she felt the urgent glare. The mountain shook and she stumbled, the view below no longer steady. Sakura kneeled down and held onto the earth as a few pebbles smacked her head. When the shaking stopped, Sakura stood, sword out and eyes hard set.

Without looking below, Sakura continued on the twisting path to the top. The mountain shook again and a great roar accompanied more falling rocks. She didn't stop. Her feet were forced foreword. Sakura would not - could not look back or else her will would falter and she would run back to help her team.

When the crest of the mountain was in view, Sakura immediately stopped, her boots skidding causing dirt to fly. Before her was a great pink dragon. Sakura had seen many dragons in books and pictures, but they were never pink. Raging green orbs glared at her as the large toothy mouth roared out its anger at being disturbed. The pink did not mean that it was to be underestimated. But -

_No._ Sakura stumbled back. She knew those green eyes and that bubblegum pink shade. She looked at them almost every day in the mirror. Sakura Haruno was fighting herself.

A flaming ball came at her and Sakura jumped to the left, landing on her side. As she slowly pushed herself up – never once taking her eyes off of the dragon in front of her – Sakura couldn't help but shake her head. "I'm fighting a fire breathing dragon version of me." Now standing, Sakura raised the sword and positioned herself into a fighting stance. "Too bad for you," Her eyes narrowed, sending her own glare back at the dragon, "I'm just as bad ass!"

Sakura launched herself foreword, hopping to the side as teeth came dangerously close. Metal knocked against enamel. Sakura spun, nicking the Dragon's leg. It roared and spun erratically. The massive tail caught Sakura in the stomach and sent her flying to the end of the crest and rolling off.

A hand flew out and caught the edge in time. Sakura threw the hand with the sword up and clawed at the ground, doing her best to heave herself up. When she was up, she chuckled at the dragon while she wiped a trail of blood that dribbled from the corner of her lips. "Gotta watch out for that tail." Sakura muttered.

The Dragon stopped its thrashing and saw that Sakura had made it up. Its head reared back and Sakura rolled off to the side as the fire was released. As soon as she got up from the roll, Sakura slashed at the Dragon's back leg. This time, she knew to jump and avoid the tail that came her way. Right after the tail came the snapping head, catching Sakura's arm and throwing her off to the side.

Sakura hit the ground hard. Her breath was heavy. Her stomach and arm throbbed. She could feel her clothes sticking to her from the combination of sweat and blood. From the corner of her eye, she saw a sharp looking tail come in her direction. Sakura rolled away in time, but the tail picked up and was ready to stab her again before she could recover. The only thing she could do is close her eyes and wish for home.

In the darkness, she heard the squishing sound of the tail hitting its target, but she felt nothing. Her eyes squinted open, quickly followed by her mouth. "No…" Her voice was hoarse. "No!" It grew stronger. In front of her, dangling at the end of the dragon's tail was the King himself. "NO!" Sakura leapt up, ignoring her injuries and slashed at the tail, severing it from Sasuke.

Sasuke dropped like a ragdoll. Sakura had no time to weep. The dragon raged, its whole body shaking. It reared up while Sakura raised the sword high in the air. The dragon moved to stomp on her frail body, but Sakura found a swiftness she did not have before and dodged so that she was right below the dragon. The sword went up into the dragon's body without resistance.

There was a moment of silence in which both parties held their breath. Sakura grit her teeth, willing the tears away and yanked out the sword. The dragon roared, staggering back. Letting out an anguished cry, Sakura swung the sword in an arc, successfully cutting through the scaled neck. The heavy head flew off, falling in a heap beside Sakura. The body's dragon fell to the side, close to the head as though trying to stay connected.

Behind her, the sun finally set behind the hills. Sakura let the sword fall to the ground without regard to the special item. Her feet carried her to the bleeding King. Dirty knees met the ground with great force, but she did notice, nor did she care. Her tired arms reached out and gathered the King to her injured body.

She held him, her eyes leaking salty tears. His lips were moving, and she leaned in to hear, "Stop trying to save me, dumbass."

Sakura pulled back, her green eyes wide and eyebrows furrowed. Tears were constantly flowing out. "But, you saved me." She whispered, not understanding.

Sasuke winced as he lifted a fisted hand. It was slow and Sakura could only watch in a daze as he softly knocked his knuckles against her forehead. "That's not what I was talking about." His fist dropped as her eyes snapped down to look at his dirty and bloodied face. Red water was coming from his mouth, but he continued to stare at her, willing her.

_-kura!_

Sakura's eyes tore from Sasuke's dimming orbs to look around her.

_-up!_

_Sakura!_

_Come on!_

"What's happening?" Her arms unconsciously held Sasuke closer to her, green eyes frantically searching around for the voices.

_Wake up!_

_Please, Sakura_

Sasuke was getting lighter. "Sasuke!" Sakura ignored the voices and stared down at him. To her growing horror, he was nearly see-through. "No! Don't go!" Tears streamed down her face.

Sasuke only smiled – a real smile - and said, "We're all waiting for you."

He was gone.

"N-no!" Frantic arms flailed about, hoping to grasp a last bit of what had disappeared. "Don't leave me!" A familiar broken cry. There was no holding back the tears now. "Sasuke." Her eyes squeezed shut, unwilling to believe.

_Sakura_

Eyes snapped open and looked around. The world was disappearing, breaking apart like shards of glass. Everything was hazy.

_Sakura_

_Come home_

She stood up and the world shook. Sakura wiped a dirty arm over her wet eyes. When she was done, her eyes were still watery, but they were now filled with a determination.

"I'm here!" She called.

_Sakura-chan_

_Wake up!_

More shaking.

_We miss you, Sakura-chan_

The color was fading into darkness. Sakura closed her eyes and held out her arms. "Wait for me."

_Sakura, come home._

* * *

Tada! Final chapter next. It's more of an epilogue. After that, I might put in a bonus chapter (more details later when I wont be spoiling anything). You may certainly speculate though :)

**Questions for you to review on:**

What did you think of the fight?  
What do you think about Sasuke/The Red King in this story?  
Do you have a favorite scene? In this chapter or any part of the story.  
Did I do a good mix of both the Wonderland world and Naruto characters?


	7. Kings, Dreams, and Everything In Between

Thanks again to Aria Lockheart for being a faithful reviewer and for everyone else who reviewed!

**Down the Rabbit Hole  
.:Chapter 7 – Of Kings, Dreams, and Everything In Between:.**

_Beep Beep Beep_

The sound – it was familiar. Different from the ticking clock she'd become accustomed to.

_Beep Beep Beep_

It was high pitched and annoying is what it was. Sakura felt her nose automatically scrunch up.

"Sakura-chan! I saw her move!"

Something warm grabbed her arm.

"Idiot! Give her some space!"

The warmth left as quickly as it had come. She missed it.

"Sakura-chan, open your eyes!"

She tried to follow the orders. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. An involuntary moan escaped.

"It's okay now, Sakura."

_Yeah,_ Sakura thought_, I'm working on it_. Instead, she tried to move her arms, hands, fingers... there, some fingers twitched. Why was she so tired and heavy? That's right, getting shoved around by a pink dragon will do that. What happened to everyone? Were they okay?

"Sakura."

That voice – Sakura zeroed in on it. Memories of her last final moments hit her hard. She had to be sure. Green eyes finally cracked open – unwilling to go further, her lids stayed only cracked. Faces immediately forced their way into her line of sight. Some calling her name, others were smiling softly at her. But Sakura wasn't really seeing them. Her eyes sought out those fathomless coal eyes. When she found them, her exhausted gaze roamed his body for injuries. He looked tired – exhausted even, but relatively uninjured; And he was, most importantly, alive. A hand reached up, shaking with the effort. Sasuke stared at it for a moment, before catching it in his own. "Okay?" She whispered. Her voice was much weaker than she intended.

Sakura could have been too tired. She could have still been dreaming. Hell, her eyes may have even been seeing things – but Sakura saw him offer a small, but gentle smile while he nodded and gripped her hand. "Ah."

She returned the smile even as she felt herself give in to the darkness. The voices of the other people in the room faded into the background as her eyes closed again, the image of his smile forever printed in her brain. She never felt his grip let go of her hand.

* * *

When the green eyes opened again, Sakura was pleasantly surprised to find that they were far less heavy and much more focused. Her gaze first landed on her left hand. She tried not to feel disappointed.

"Good evening."

Sakura looked up from her hand to see her old teacher smiling at her from behind his orange book. For a brief moment, Sakura thought she saw grey ears protruding from his head. She blinked, and the ears were gone.

"Evening." Sakura mumbled out. She blinked a few times before rubbing at her eyes, trying to get the sleep out. "What happened?"

"Oh? What was the last thing you remember?"

"I-" Sakura paused, her hands dropping from her eyes onto her lap. She remembered the attack in Sound, and then she remembered Wonderland, but could she tell that to Kakashi? "I remember being attacked in sound." Kakashi nodded, his gaze never leaving her. He waited for her to continue. "Then someone was about to use a genjutsu on Sasuke and –" Her brain became foggy. Visions of cat ears, hats, swords, and dragons swam through memories. She could still hear a faint ticking sound if she concentrated hard enough. "I had the strangest dream." She murmmered, nearly forgetting where she was and that there was someone in the room.

"Hmmm?" That sound. That irritating sound that said he knew she was hiding something. Sakura was snapped back to reality.

"What?" Sakura snapped.

Kakashi's answer was paused by the door slamming open and a blonde bouncing in. "Sakura-chan!"

Blonde hair immediately covered most of her vision. Over the bushel of hair, she saw her teacher and Sasuke stroll in.

When Naruto pulled back, not letting go of her hand, Sakura looked at him carefully, noting that nothing had changed from before her dream. Yet, she still thought he looked a bit odd without a hat on.

"How are you feeling?" The other blonde in the room asked. She picked up the wrist that wasn't being held and checked her pulse.

"Sakura was just about to tell us about her strange dream." Kakashi offered.

A heated red tint shaded Sakura's face, and a glare was sent over in Kakashi's direction. She could not see his entire masked face behind the orange book, but one eye had slightly squinted and Sakura was sure he wasn't smiling at the book.

"Tell me, Sakura-chan!" Naruto squeezed her hand. "Was I in it?"

There was reluctance as she answered, "You all were."

"Yeah? Was I awesome?"

"It was a lot like a book I read as a child." The world around her became slightly hazy as she pulled at her memories from a time in another world. "Naruto, you were the Mad Hatter."

"Hey! I'm not mad!" Naruto dropped her hand and pointed both fingers at an exaggerated smile, "I'm usually happy!"

"She means crazy, dobe."

Sakura continued, still picturing her beloved friends, "You were in it too, Kakashi-sensei. You were the Cheshire Cat." She chuckled slightly "You were still late."

"I try to stay true no matter what form."

"You were injured…" Her eyes unconsciously moved from his grey hair to his stomach. He had his normal clothes on, but green eyes searched for any indication of bandage wrappings underneath.

"I was." Kakashi put his book down and stood from his chair. Sakura watched his casual form saunter over, looking for any sign, any falter or wince. His hand found her pink hair and ruffled it. "But you healed me, Sakura. It's okay. I'm okay."

"Oh? Was I in this too?" Sakura's gaze turned to her teacher. She no longer wore a crown on her head, but Sakura thought it would fit her fine even in reality.

"You were the Duchess. You thought Tonton was your baby."

"Sounds about right." Kakahi's hand was lifted and he moved to sit back down on his chair.

"Watch it." Sakura heard Tsunade snap, but Sakura had stopped listening.

She missed them – her Wonderland friends. They had saved her, befriended her, and traveled with her, filling a void she didn't know she had until they were together again. Now they only existed in her memories - yet looking around the room, she knew a part of them was still there. She had never really left them. "Even in the dream, everyone was there."

"Sakura," Tsunde's voice was serious, with a hint of a special untold secret. "It wasn't a dream. It was a genjutsu."

"Oh." Sakura's head cocked to the side, trying to wrap her head around this new information, "So," She started slowly, "I've been trapped in it this whole time?"

"It's not something you can easily get out of. The danger of this particular genjutsu is the longer you stay in there, the harder it is to get out. Eventually, you forget that you weren't even from there and it become impossible to tear your mind from that world while here your body becomes a shell."

That made sense. She could remember working hard to get home at first, then slowly forgetting her purpose. Her mind had also been sending out signals, the sun, Sasuke - "It's strange." Sakura's nose scrunched up, "The Sasuke in my dream kept trying to warn me too. Maybe my sub-"

"That's because it was Sasuke!"

Green eyes snapped over to face wide, excited blue. "What?" Was all she could manage from her gaping mouth. They blinked rapidly at Naruto. He was grinning widely. Slowly, her gaze moved from Naruto, to the silent figure in the corner of the room. He was leaning on the wall, finding something in the corner far more interesting than this conversation.

"We sent someone in to guide you out." She heard Tsunade explain to her left. Sakura never stopped staring at Sasuke. "With the danger of forgetting yourself, we sent in some insurance to guide you along the way."

Sakura's mouth was dry. All of the hints, all of the urging and directions flashed through her brain. _Why _though? Why him? Why not not Naruto or Kakashi?

"He volunteered." Sakura didn't know if she had asked the question or if Tsunade had read her expression, but as soon as she answered, Sasuke's glare was directed at Tsunade. "As soon as we figured out what had to be done, Sasuke volunteered. It was dangerous, but had the best chakra control and the most likely to get you out rather than get sidetracked."

"I guess," Sakura swallowed, "I guess it makes sense."

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes before pushing off of the wall. "You were damn annoying too. Always getting into trouble and forgetting your way."

Annoying. Sakura should have been angry. She should have been offended at his favorite word for her, should have smacked him for saying her least favorite word in the world. _Annoying._

But instead, Sakura grinned. She grinned and reached from his hand when he came near. "Yeah." Her grip on his hand was hard. "I am." He looked away, but she could feel his fingers mold around hers. "But you still saved me."

"Idiot." He mumbled. Pink tinted otherwise pale ears. "I wouldn't have to if you weren't such an idiot and jumping in front of things not meant for you."

"Yeah." She squeezed his hand again. The others in the room were long forgotten. "Thank you."

His onyx eyes finally met hers. She saw barely hidden relief, pride, and a little bit of something she knew was also reflecting in her eyes. "Don't do it again."

"Don't get caught in a genjutsu again, or don't save you?"

Sasuke's gaze darkened slightly with memories, "Both."

Sakura chuckled, "I can't promise anything." Her eyes twinkled, her grip on his hand never weakening, "But I have my very own King to save me again."

He did not respond, but he did not pull away nor give her a negative answer, and that, Sakura knew, was his answer.

And in the back of her mind, inside a black and white checkered room and a small door, a Hatter would always be having a ramen party with a mouse and hare that a Cheshire Cat would be late for. The Duchess would forever be caring for her baby pig and harassed by the white queen. A mouse and a cat would play near the water while a lizard would be helping the white rabbit paint his house. Traveling around, a King would eventually find a ramen party and join because they were a team, and they were waiting for the day their pink haired friend would dream again.

* * *

**Tada!** Short, but effective ending. The story itself is finished, but I was to **add another chapter with Sasuke's point of view** from all of this. It might answer a few of your questions too.

So, now that it's over, the **fun part** is going back over the previous chapters and seeing all the hints from the first chapter of who everyone is and the hints leading to the last chapter. I was hoping I didn't make everything too obvious. Did I? Or were there some pleasant (or unpleasant?) surprises?

Hope you enjoyed. I had a lot of fun writing this story (though the end was a bit difficult). Thanks and please review!

Joy-girl


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